Editor: Like many in the housing sector, I have watched with keen interest the achievements of the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) Healthy Homes campaign and the progress of the Healthy Homes Bill.
The campaign has highlighted the impact that residential accommodation has on the wellbeing of individuals and communities. Places for People has long recognised the importance of healthy homes and neighbourhoods, and we believe our industry has a responsibility to focus on wellbeing in the communities in which we work.
After all, a sustainable community that changes lives for the better relies on many different elements, including support for people’s physical and mental wellbeing. Indeed, the government’s levelling-up white paper highlights that people’s health can have a huge impact on the prosperity of communities.
The challenge for housebuilders is to design and deliver developments that factor in wellbeing and make a positive impact. At Places for People, we have developed a Place Design Guide setting out crucial principles such as access to nature, green space, parks and gyms, as well as community exercise programmes. These plans are now coming to fruition and we will be looking closely at the lessons we can learn so we can continue to improve.
Each neighbourhood is different and approaches need to be tailored to complement existing measures and community priorities.
Our supported living provider, Places for People Living Plus, has a specialist team to provide a holistic range of services to people with varying degrees of need. This all-inclusive approach has centred on providing healthy, integrated communities, working with local agencies to provide person-centred, trauma-informed support for vulnerable families, including customer support for wellbeing.
As highlighted by Public Health England, community-centred approaches are not just about providing local opportunities, but mobilising assets, promoting equity and increasing people’s control over their health and lives. I would welcome more opportunities and more dialogue on this issue, as well as the sharing of best practice within the housebuilding sector to keep this topic front of mind, and to help build on the progress of the Healthy Homes Bill.
Branwen Evans, policy research and public affairs director, Places for People
No comments yet