The Housing Enabling Network website was launched in March 2012.  it is an initiative of the SW Improvement and Efficiency Partnership and Plymouth City Council that aims to provide an on-line resource for housng enablers and their close colleagues nationwide as well as in the South West. 

Aims

The main aim of the Housing Enabling Network has been stated as follows:

"to support a stronger network of housing enablers with more effective communications that will add value to housing enabling work and secure better outcomes for local authorities in their dealings with developers"

More specifically, the Network is seen as a resource for housing enabler forums that will

• share best practice;
• share information about current trends in the development environment;
• promote awareness of policy developments that affect enabling work;
• offer sessions that would help build the knowledge and skill base of enablers;
• develop greater self-confidence and a sense of professionalism amongst enablers;
• identify training needs and to seek ways of commissioning training;
• identify any need for research and to seek ways of commissioning it;
• identify policy issues that need addressing and where appropriate to make representations to policy-makers and funders in support of needed changes;
• provide a conduit for communication between housing enablers and policy makers and key agencies such as the HCA
• facilitate the development of an accessible library of materials to support the work of housing enablers.

The website is intended to deliver these benefits on a continuous basis alongside whatever face-to-face forums exist, and of course nationally rather than just locally.

Background

The initiative began after Margaret Gibson,  a Programme Manager for the RIEP at South West Councils, became familiar with the Empty Homes Network, which similaly supports a specialist group of practitioners.  She was impressed by the website and the vibrancy of that Network and saw the potential for a similar vehicle for housing enablers. 

Plymouth City Council were also strong supporters of the Empty Homes Network and took the opportunity offered by the availability of RIEP funding to support the new initative. 

The third player was David Gibbens (previously Housing Enabling Manager for Exeter City Council) who had set up the Empty Home Network website and was the EHN Secretary and Policy Lead and a long-standing member of the EHN Executive  The SW RIEP contracted with David to develop the website and Plymouth City Council, with further funding from the RIEP, agreed to fund the on-going support of the website for two years.

Future

The funding is sufficient to sustain the website and core admin functions, such as Membership processing, for two years.  Assuming the Network serves a useful purpose and has attracted sufficient members then the challenge will be for it to be come self-sustaining after that time. The Empty Homes Network has managed this - as have other specialist networks in local government and elsewhere.  There seems no reason why housing enablers should not be able to do the same. We look forward to building a long-term and dynamic support network.