The impact of housing on health (Part 2)

In the previous article I touched on some of the evidence emerging of the impact of housing on health during lockdown. The issues with poor housing stock are certainly not new and follow years of a lack of investment.

This issue has become all the more acute during lockdown and could provide real impetus for change. Moving forward, there are real opportunities to affect positive change – at both the local and national levels.

There is strong local case to be made for urgent community engagement, action and investment, as we move from the national to regional and local lockdowns. I also want to provide a few reflections on just some of the recent government announcements with regards to the property sector.

Local considerations

There are clear indications that the negative physical and mental health impacts for those living in homes that fail to meet decent housing standards, coupled with factors such as overcrowding or isolation, have been exacerbated by the closure of many public spaces including libraries and leisure centres (Judge and Rahman, 2020). In addition, we know that environmental health and proximity to nature play important roles in our health and wellbeing, and their lack can exacerbate existing health inequalities (Collier, 2020; Gray and Kellas, 2020).

As we move from national lockdown to the reality of regional and local lockdowns, there’s an urgent need to understand how we might utilise public spaces to alleviate some of the burdens associated with lockdown. For instance, what is the role of libraries? There is no data on how libraries are used for activities like studying or simply a place to sit in the warmth in winter*.

National considerations

Over the last few weeks there have been a raft of announcements from government in support of the ‘Build, Build, Build’ agenda. The focus appears to be very much on providing a boost to the construction industry, as well as building more homes. While I cautiously welcome these announcements, I do have concerns.

First, the Green Homes Grant Scheme, announced earlier this month, provides £2bn worth of vouchers for projects such as ensuring homes are insulated. In addition to the potential for reducing carbon emissions, and costs of cooling and heating homes, there are concerns. These concerns are, if done incorrectly, the scheme will be open to ‘scammers’. There are also real risks of poor practices.  For example, if insulation is done badly or unsuitable materials are used, it can lead to longer term issues such as reduced ventilation in homes, and a build up of damp (The IET, 2020). Poor ventilation and damp in homes can cause significant health issues.

Second, a £266m fund has been made available to councils to ensure to ensure that vulnerable people have a place to stay. It will cover property costs and support tenancies.

Third, there has been a significant set of changes made to Permitted Development Rights. They allow for changes such as some extensions to the home such as kitchen infills without requiring planning permission. The ambition is to both support business and provide more homes.

Significant concerns have been raised about Permitted Development Rights as they stand (Town and Country Planning Association, 2020). Not only are there very real concerns about how it takes away from Local Authorities the ability to manage planning, and ensure the appropriate infrastructure is in place, it can lead to extensions and repurposing of existing buildings in ways that fail to meeting a number of building standards.

The changes announced will extend Permitted Development Rights. This includes there being no need for planning permission for up to an additional two storeys on purpose built detached blocks of flats and permitting shops to be converted into housing, with various exemptions. If done well, there are real opportunities to add to the housing stock so in some ways could be welcomed.

However, an independent report published on 21 July by the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government concludes that

‘that permitted development conversions do seem to create worse quality residential environments than planning permission conversions in relation to a number of factors widely linked to the health, wellbeing and quality of life of future occupiers.’ (Clifford et al., 2020, p10)

Conclusion

There is an urgent need to address the conditions of lockdown for those living in substandard and/or overcrowded housing. This will be to potentially mitigate what will likely be additional and significant mental and physical health problems as a result of regional and local lockdowns over the coming year. Without doing this, not only is there a very real risk of overwhelming health and care services, including public health, but also increasing already stark inequalities.

At the heart of this needs to be local decision making and community engagement, to identify and issues and potential solutions. This is necessary in both the short term and the long term.

References

Clifford, B. et al. (2020) Research into the quality standard of homes delivered through change of use permitted development rights. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/902220/Research_report_quality_PDR_homes.pdf

Collier, B. (2020) ‘The race factor in access to green space’. Available at: https://www.runnymedetrust.org/blog/the-race-factor-in-access-to-green-space

Gray, S. and Kellas, A. (2020) ‘Covid-19 has highlighted the inadequate, and unequal, access to high quality green spaces’. BMJ Opinion. Available at: https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/07/03/covid-19-has-highlighted-the-inadequate-and-unequal-access-to-high-quality-green-spaces/

Judge, L. and Rahman, F. (2020) Lockdown living. Available at: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/lockdown-living/

The IET (2020) ‘IET comments on Chancellor’s energy saving home improvements announcement’. Available at: https://www.theiet.org/media/press-releases/press-releases-2020/7-july-2020-iet-comments-on-chancellor-s-energy-saving-home-improvements-announcement/

Town and Country Planning Association (2020) Planning 2020 ‘One year on’ – 21st Century Slums. Available at: https://www.tcpa.org.uk/the-raynsford-review-of-planning-one-year-on

*With thanks to @librarieshacked for flagging the limited research that has been done on library usage.