No. 37/04

Press Release: 4 August 2004

WEST MIDLANDS RECEIVES OVER £170K INNOVATION AND GOOD PRACTICE CASH BOOST

The West Midlands region will benefit from a £177,300 cash windfall, as part of a package of grants to encourage innovation and good practice in housing, announced today by the Housing Corporation.

The five projects funded include four which are specifically designed to encourage residents to have a greater say in how their neighbourhoods are run and managed.

The largest single grant of £69,200 goes to embed the role of tenants in regeneration strategies and establish a panel of resident experts, focusing on design, liveability and safety in neighbourhood renewal.

Elsewhere, there is £60,000 for the Birmingham Sandwell Pathfinder area; £23,100 to produce a long-term plan to secure the future of the Co-op housing sector; a further £15,000 for improved community facilities and activities in Haregate; and £10,000 for promoting the COFEM (Career Opportunities for Ethnic Minorities) initiative and other Black and Minority Ethnic housing strategies.

Housing Corporation chief executive, Jon Rouse, said: "Our Investment and Good Practice programme, and particularly the Community Training and Enabling element, delivers much-needed funds to meet local priorities. This is real cash, going direct to real people who are engaged in initiatives which benefit entire communities.

"Over the years, our IGP programme has funded a raft of pioneering projects, many of which have subsequently paved the way as examples of best practice within the sector. I am delighted that the package we are announcing today will ensure that this good work continues."

The Corporation is also implementing a number of wide-ranging changes to the IGP programme to better reflect central and regional Government priorities. The IGP programme was launched in 1995 and has funded over 2000 projects to date, to the tune of over £75 million.

ends

For more information contact Gillian Watson on 020 7393 2095; email: gillian.watson@housingcorp.gsx.gov.uk, or Robert Davies on 020 7393 2227; email: robert.davies@housingcorp.gsx.gov.uk

Notes to Editors:

1. The Housing Corporation is the Government agency responsible for regulating and investing in over 2,000 housing associations in England. It is changing the face of affordable homes, creating strong communities that are exciting places to live and work. Its biggest ever investment programe of £3.3 billion for 2004-06 will fund over 67,000 affordable homes.