The dynamic duo - Birmingham's caped crusaders

Published by Hannah Wooderson for 24dash.com in Local Government and also in Housing

He’s the big, imposing Tory councillor with a poster of Sir Winston Churchill on his office wall. She’s the Guardian-reading, director of housing who’s not afraid to speak her mind. At first glance John Lines and Elaine Elkington may seem like an odd couple but together this dynamic duo are turning Birmingham City Council into housing trailblazers.

Since they first met a little over five years ago the pair have formed a formidable partnership that has transformed the council’s housing department from national joke to one of the most respected in the country. Jon Land finds out more.

On the day of 24housing’s visit, John and Elaine are talking enthusiastically about the start of work on a new multi-million pound Extra Care housing development – the second to be given the go ahead in Birmingham this year.

The plans form part of a wider housing strategy that include the setting up of a Municipal Housing Trust to deliver hundreds of new council homes and a pledge to invest £134 million in improving its existing housing stock to ensure the city meets the Decent Homes Standard deadline ahead of schedule.

Back in 2004 this would have been nothing more than a pipe dream. The council’s housing department was in disarray and regarded as a national joke.

John takes up the story: “I’ve worked in local government for 28 years, the majority of which I’ve spent in opposition so to be able to actually do something tangible for the people of Birmingham is a dream come true for me.

“But the day I first walked into the housing department five years ago was unbelievably depressing. There was a decent team here but the morale was terrible and Birmingham City Council’s national reputation on housing was awful. I thought to myself the people of Birmingham deserve better than this.”

John and Elaine both point to their excellent working relationship as the foundation on which the transformation has been built. From a zero-star Audit Commission rating in 2004, the council now has two stars and ‘excellent prospects’ for the future.

“The relationship between council officer and politician is not always easy,” explains Elaine. “But the key to the way we work is that we would never knowingly let each other down. One thing that distinguishes John is that he’ll always give credit where it’s due but if we do have a problem, I know we’ll get an honest and fair hearing.”

“We’re definitely a dynamic duo and try to do everything together,” adds John. “Elaine has an excellent team around her and I trust her 100%. From day one I told her the buck stops with me and I wanted to create an environment where the staff were proud to work for Birmingham City Council and weren’t afraid to put their heads above the parapet.”

So remarkable has been the transformation that when the Homes and Communities Agency announced in April that £100 million would be made available to local authorities to build new council homes, Birmingham City Council was among the first to express an interest.

The council, through its newly established Municipal Housing Trust, is currently in the process of preparing a bid to the HCA for a £7.2 million grant towards a £15.2 million housebuilding programme that would see 131 new homes built in the Birmingham districts of Kings Norton, Sparkbrook, Hodge Hill and Handsworth. If successful, work on the two, three and four bedroom homes could potentially start as early as March next year.

The first phase of homes would be built on land already owned by the council and available for social rent, but the council’s long-term ambition is to create multi-tenure housing citywide.

For John Lines, however, this is only the start.

“I am very proud of the fact we built 22 new council properties over the last 12 months but we need to add some zeros to that figure to satisfy the demand and needs of our residents,” he explains.

“I am delighted that Birmingham and other councils are now in a position to intervene in the housing market directly and take our first steps to build much-needed affordable homes for our people. Given the economic climate, the housing market has weakened and financing for RSL development has become harder, which is why we’ve decided to step in and take a lead.”

While welcoming the opportunity the HCA has given to councils to start building housing, he reserves judgement on the value of the new agency.

“Without wanting to get too political, we’ve heard an awful lot of announcements from central government on how they’re doing this and that to help the housing market in this country, but so far there has been very little action. Let’s see what happens,” he adds.

Elaine adds: “The Government’s signal to relax the financial constraints on local authorities could not have come at a better time for Birmingham. We have a unique chance to play a far greater role in increasing affordable housing in the city. Our plans have been developed with the full support of the HCA and our proven track record as a city is on delivery.”

The building of new council homes goes hand-in-hand with the department’s other key priorities including improving the existing housing stock to the Decent Homes Standard and ambitious plans to provide state-of-the-art Extra Care accommodation for the city’s over 55s.

“By 2016 there will be an additional 17,000 pensioner households in the city and we need to make sure they have somewhere to live,” says Elaine.

“When the Extra Care Charitable Trust held an event at Villa Park to showcase potential plans for Birmingham, 4,500 people turned up – and there was only a scale model to show them at that point!

“The demand has been phenomenal, which is why we’ve decided to build two Extra Care villages in the city. I think people realise that Extra Care is about more than just bricks and mortar, it’s life changing.”

Construction work is already underway at both sites, in Turves Green and Yardley, with more than 180 apartments to be built for rent, shared ownership and outright sale by the end of next year.

John sums up the mood in Birmingham at the moment: “It’s a really exciting time and I’m getting a real buzz from the job but we know there’s a long way to go. This is just the beginning.”