Should housing associations be turning to the Private Finance Initiative to broaden their portfolios?
Caroline Shah visits Richmond to find out how one housing trust is facing the future In leafy Richmond upon Thames, designer shops vie with trendy coffee bars. House prices have soared. And a massive complex of luxury housing developments, complete with security gates and expensive river views, has been built on the site of the once-legendary ice rink. But not everyone in Richmond is rich. Richmond upon Thames Churches Housing Trust (RCHT), the local housing association, has been providing homes for people on low incomes in the area since 1967. However, the trust now finds itself in something of a straitjacket. The massive increase in land and house prices since the early 1980s has made it increasingly pricey for the trust to build new homes at acceptable rent levels. As a result, it is reviewing its business strategy. John Wood, a director at RCHT, says: `Like all registered social landlords, we must consider all the business opportunities open to us, given the continuing rise in the
Caroline Shah visits Richmond to find out how one housing trust is facing the future In leafy Richmond upon Thames, designer shops vie with trendy coffee bars. House prices have soared. And a massive complex of luxury housing developments, complete with security gates and expensive river views, has been built on the site of the once-legendary ice rink. But not everyone in Richmond is rich. Richmond upon Thames Churches Housing Trust (RCHT), the local housing association, has been providing homes for people on low incomes in the area since 1967. However, the trust now finds itself in something of a straitjacket. The massive increase in land and house prices since the early 1980s has made it increasingly pricey for the trust to build new homes at acceptable rent levels. As a result, it is reviewing its business strategy. John Wood, a director at RCHT, says: `Like all registered social landlords, we must consider all the business opportunities open to us, given the continuing rise in the
