星空传媒

Manchester council has built up a reputation for being the ASBO capital of the UK, with a whopping 219 orders given out in the past eight months. But now the government trailblazer has decided to apply a more cerebral approach for dealing with nuisance neighbours. It鈥檚 employing a psychologist from Manchester University to explore why problematic residents are antisocial and why they often refuse to mend their ways. Classes will then be offered for parents of under-fours 鈥� training courses for teenagers are also planned. Housing hardcase Bill Pitt teaming up with Cracker 鈥� surely an antisocial behaviour-fighting match made in heaven.

Dead in the water

It鈥檚 not been a great week for John Prescott鈥檚 housing growth areas. Various bodies have predicted the poorly designed homes will be swept away in future Thames Gateway floods. Now a study has revealed that even if the homes survive, the occupants themselves are likely to hammer the final nails in the new communities鈥� coffins. According to Dr Paul Zollinger-Read, chief executive of Witham, Braintree & Halstead Care Trust, a recent study of a commuter estate in West London showed that children had unexpectedly high levels of behavioural problems and experienced more domestic violence than other areas. 鈥淭here is no community infrastructure for mothers to talk to other people,鈥� he explained. John, you have been warned.

Doing the decent thing

I was saddened last week to learn that Peabody was planning to sell off as many as 1100 homes in order to meet the decent homes standard. However, it did strike me as slightly odd that one of those backing the plea for more ODPM cash to help plug the funding gap was development director Dickon Robinson. Surely the extra 拢10m the trust had to pump into its flagship BedZed scheme in Sutton last year following a cost overrun would have provided welcome support for the ailing decent homes programme?

Vote for me (please)

Poor Sue Harvey, who gamely took part in the 鈥済reat debate鈥� at the Nat Fed鈥檚 London finance conference last Wednesday. Arguing for the motion that paying housing benefit direct to tenants would be good for social landlords, the housing benefit guru couldn鈥檛 have expected to garner many votes from an audience of sceptical finance directors. But she might at least have expected some support from her fellow team-mate. Alas, as this turned out to be Mike Donaldson from London & Quadrant, best known for his scathing account of L&Q鈥檚 own pilot of the scheme, she found herself having to beg delegates for sympathy votes. Not an approach I can see working for DWP minister Chris Pond.