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New Royal programme gives
£100,000 to local community groups
80 local community projects have
received vital funding to help them reach more people across Merseyside after
sharing £100,000 from the Liverpool Community Fund.
The fund was set up by Carillion and the Trust as part of the deal for the new
Royal and has provided £100,000 over 3 years to 80 local organisations that
support healthy living, building stronger communities, cleaner, safer, greener
communities and education.
The latest round of funding went to 28 projects who shared £33,330. Among the
successful bids was Genie in the Gutter who run a family intervention project to
reconnect substance misusers with their families.
Janine Davies, project manager at Genie in the Gutter, said:- "The support
we received from the Liverpool Community Fund has enabled two programmes to run
at Genie our Choose a Healthy You programme and our Family Bonds project.
Both projects have had significant impact and really supported vulnerable and
isolated people to become fitter, healthier and re-integrated into wider healthy
communities. Clients have reconnected with friends, family and other support
networks, which has helped their confidence, increased their self-esteem and
helped to speed up the process of recovery."
To mark 3 years of awarding funding, Carillion, the Trust and Liverpool Charity
and Voluntary Services hosted a celebration event, on Monday, 5 September 2016, at
University of Liverpool Student's Guild.
This is the final instalment of the funding which has supported local
communities, with 33 groups being supported in 2015 and 19 groups being
supported in 2014.
Liverpool Homeless Football Club received essential funding for a City Centre
Office, in 2014.
John Finnigan, CEO of Liverpool Homeless Football Club, said:- "Liverpool
Homeless Football Club aims to tackle homelessness across Merseyside through the
power of football. Our city centre premises allows us to easily reach the city's
homeless population and to continue our successful track record of engaging and
empowering homeless people."
Simon Webb, operations director of Carillion, said:- "We wanted to create
a lasting legacy in Liverpool; not only by creating a world class Hospital, but
by supporting local communities to give opportunities to local people. These
projects do some amazing work and we would like to thank them for everything
they do for the communities they serve."
Aidan Kehoe, chief executive of the Trust, said:- "It has been great
seeing what these community projects are doing for local people. One thing we
were very clear about when planning the new Royal was that it wasn't just about
the building; we wanted to connect with local communities and help those
projects to help other people."
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A typical tenant? "No
such thing any more..." says Belvoir
THE idea of a "typical tenant"
has disappeared from the UK's private rental sector. They no longer exist;
according to the country's largest property franchise Belvoir, which has 6
offices on Merseyside. Middle aged professionals are now renting alongside
teenage students in a market that has turned on its head in the last 2 decades.
"It says as much about our society, today, as it does about the country's
housing crisis. Divorce, redundancy and relocation are now common reasons for
renting a home and even flat sharing with strangers; as property prices carry on
rising and availability continues to drop. At 1 time you might have pictured a
typical tenant as a university undergraduate or low income earner, but that's
old hat now. The private residential property market just isn't that simple
these days; especially in London." says Adam Rastall, who owns the Belvoir office on Mill
Lane in West Derby.
Belvoir's comments come after new figures show nearly 20% of people rent their
home in the private sector; almost double the 2003 figure. And in London,
alone, the number of private tenants has trebled.
The sector is now a vital provider for Britain's chronic housing crisis where
new build targets are not being met and a 60% increase in the price of an
average UK home is squeezing out all but the most affluent buyer; in all age
and social groups. It's 1 reason why flat sharing is becoming an option for a growing number of
people in their 40's and 50's; Saga has reported that a 3rd of over 50's are
renting. "The tenant generation used to be quite young; from students through to
singles and couples who saw renting as a better way of using their income; but
it has a much broader demographic profile these days." says Ron Wilson,
who owns the Belvoir office on High Street in Prescot.
There are several reasons:-
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The young people of 20 years ago are now grown up, may never have earned enough
to buy their own home, and the older you get the more difficult it becomes to
get a mortgage.
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With stagnant wage growth, and rising house prices, young people just don't
stand a chance on the housing ladder.
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Others opt to rent as a lifestyle choice knowing that their monthly overheads
are fixed.
At the top end of the scale many business people are renting weekday bases close
to their work and commuting home at weekends. And with rising divorce rates,
couples that split are discovering the true cost of living alone.
But, as demand rises, single people living alone in family homes also hamper the
UK's limited housing stock. According to the Office for National Statistics the
number of 1 person households is expected to increase by 25% in the next 23
years; to hog 33% of the total market by 2039.
Dorian Gonsalves, Managing Director of the 170 branch Belvoir network, says that
a solution is long overdue to help flesh out the UK housing stock that is
desperately needed by 10 million tenants. "The private rented sector needs good quality family homes,
but a rising number is destined to stay occupied by single people; which will
not solve the overall problem. So called 'accidental landlords' are helping.
Typically, people who inherit a property or house owners who struggle to sell
their homes and choose to rent them out instead to provide an additional income
or supplement their pension."
says Dorian.
At the Belvoir office on Sir Thomas Street in central Liverpool, owner Paul Rice
adds:- "This will always be part of a big growth area. But it can be a
tricky one for new 'accidental landlords' who are not as familiar as experienced
professional landlords with the pitfalls and realities. That's where a good
letting agent, with a deep understanding of local market trends and
availability, becomes invaluable. In a UK market, with the many challenges
it faces, we are better placed than most to match the right landlords, and the
most suitable local properties, to satisfy the tastes and needs of today's wide
variety of tenants who are looking for them." |
