News

International review of land supply and planning systems

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has just published an international review of land supply and planning systems conducted by CCHPR, looking at what works and whether successful mechanisms from other countries could be transferred to the UK context. The review suggests that land supply is a key issue contributing to housing market volatility and problems of housing affordability in the UK.

The three main messages from the research are:

• There is no one single measure that will solve the problem – all countries struggle with balancing the need to constrain urban sprawl with the need to build sufficient homes to keep housing (more) affordable.
• But some countries, while having hot spots with high demand for housing and pressure on urban boundaries, do provide adequately outside these high pressure areas.
• Successful countries appear to be much more pro-active in the land market than the UK.

Please click here for more details and to download the report

Equity Release amongst older home owners

There is increasing interest in the role the use of equity release products can play in coping with some of the pressures of an ageing population. This study analyses what we already know about the use of equity release products by older homeowners to identify what might it be valuable to research further.

The scoping study reviews our understanding and knowledge from research on the use (or not, in most cases) of equity release products by older homeowners. It pulls together findings from the existing literature, reviews different data sets and draws on stakeholder discussions to identify what is already known about equity release in later life, what is missing from the current evidence base and the key research questions that need tackling in relation to likely future policy directions.

For more details and downloads please click here

Evaluation of the Housing and Other Benefit Measures in the Social Rented Sector

The DWP announced this week that CCHPR, together with Ipsos MORI, has been commissioned by the DWP to evaluate housing benefit changes in the social rented sector.

Social tenants of working age who under-occupy will lose either 14% or 25% of their eligible housing benefit under the size criteria.

The evaluation seeks to understand the impact of the reforms on claimants, landlords and other stakeholders.

Please click here for more details

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Latest Projects

Evaluation of the Housing and Other Benefit Measures in the Social Rented Sector (social sector size criteria and the benefit cap)

The DWP announced this week that CCHPR, together with Ipsos MORI, has been commissioned by the DWP to evaluate housing benefit changes in the social rented sector.

Social tenants of working age who under-occupy will lose either 14% or 25% of their eligible housing benefit under the size criteria.

The evaluation seeks to understand the impact of the reforms on claimants, landlords and other stakeholders.

An economic and spatial analysis of the future development of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire

This work aims to assess:

• The current economic profile of Wisbech;
• The likely future economic role of Wisbech under different scenarios;
• The sectors most likely to have potential for future employment growth; and to
• Make broad recommendations for future economic and spatial strategies to 2020.

Reselling Shared Ownership properties after improvements

This short research project has been commissioned by Thames Valley Housing Association in order to examine the practice of reselling shared ownership homes after the owner has undertaken (and paid for) improvements to their home.

Recent Outputs

Output	Description	Project
Intended and unintended consequences? A case study survey of housing associations and welfare reforms	The National Housing Federation has commissioned Ipsos MORI and Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research to assess how welfare reform impacts across the housing association sector in England. The baseline report was published in late 2012 and this case report builds on that with the results of 15 in depth case study housing associations.	Welfare Reform Impact Assessment
Building Social Capital through Community Timebanking: an interim evaluation of the Cambridgeshire timebanking project	This research is evaluating the development of a timebanking project in Cambridgeshire for Cambridgeshire County Council and the CHS Group. Timebanking is a community scheme which enables local people to exchange skills and support in a structured way around the swapping of units of their time. It can help to build social capital in local communities, but may also have the potential to generate cost savings. The interim report suggests that the time banks are developing successfully, with increasing numbers of members and exchanges. There is evidence of a range of benefits to the members who are involved and evidence of positive soft outcomes. The challenge for the time bank coordinators is to grow the time banks and consider how they may become sustainable long term.	Building Social Capital through Community Timebanking: an evaluation of the Cambridgeshire timebanking project
International review of land supply and planning systems	The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has just published an international review of land supply and planning systems conducted by CCHPR, looking at what works and whether successful mechanisms from other countries could be transferred to the UK context. The review suggests that land supply is a key issue contributing to housing market volatility and problems of housing affordability in the UK.	International review of land supply and planning systems