Report advises on mixed income communities

Posted: 23 Jun 2006 11:11:38 GMT

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has teamed up with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to produce a document of developing successful mixed income communities.

Titled Creating and Sustaining Mixed Income Communities: A Good Practice Guide, the report responds to a growing trend in the UK property market of bringing together people of varying income levels in areas that combine rented and owned houses.

Researchers have reportedly found evidence of well-established new housing developments where it is "impossible to identify tenure solely by appearance".

But it was acknowledged that there are also several challenges involved in developing mixed neighbourhoods.

Developers, first of all, need to have a clear assessment of local housing needs and market conditions if they are to make a success of the policy. There also needs to be "a briefing and masterplan process which produces a full range of housing types and sizes", while this should be based around an attractive environment.

Nick Bailey, who was responsible for leading the team of researchers, said: "Tenure mix is an important prerequisite to a successful community, but so too are the masterplan, the design quality of the homes and public facilities such as parks, the quality of schools and access to jobs.

"In the end, the success of mixed developments depends on whether they are places where people choose to live, and whether the mix of tenures and range of sizes of homes is retained through responsive management practices in the long-term."


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