Nottingham City Council has successfully defended its ?Best Local Authority? title at the East Midlands Enegy Efficiency awards ceremony, holding off strong competition from Derby, Leicester and Peterborough.

The accolade recognises one ?exceptional? council which has shown a true commitment to promoting energy efficiency through its energy-related projects benefiting local people. The council?s submission included:

• Energy-efficiency improvements to around 350 of the authority?s domestic and non-domestic properties
• Launch and progress of Nottingham Warm Homes Hub
• Energiesprong programme works retrofitting 335 properties

Read more here

Nottingham City Homes and its green fingered tenants are celebrating after winning Community Green Flag Awards.

The Green Flag Community Award is the benchmark for parks and green spaces, which are managed by volunteers. Wherever you see a Green Flag, you know you?re visiting an exceptional place with the highest standards.

Nottingham City Homes, volunteers and residents have this year won five Community Green Flag awards, celebrating gardens at Crossfield Court, Hazelhurst Gardens, Sherwood Community Food Garden, Victoria Centre Roof Garden and Frinton Road Pocket Park.?Full article here?

Local registered providers are celebrating after a glut of successful nominations to the UK Housing Awards shortlist.

Housing 21 is a finalist in the ?Best Older People?s Landlord? category, PA Housing is up for for?'Resident Employment and Training' and 'Digital Landlord of the Year' awards and Nottingham City Homes has made the shortlist in 3 categories: Homebuilder of the Year (16,000+ homes), Homelessness Project of the Year and Resident Employment and Training (15,000+ homes).

These prestigious awards are described as the biggest and best in the housing sector, with winners being announced at a special evening ceremony on 25 November.

Yesterday's UK budget announcements contained very little in the way of brand new support measures for housing, with many points previously announced or extensions of existing initiatives.

The key takeaways for housing were:

• ?1.8m brownfield fund to facilitate development on smaller sites and regenerating underused land
• ?640m to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, including the existing Rough Sleeping Initiative and Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme
• The forthcoming cladding tax for developers was set at 4%
• A cut to the Universal Credit taper rate helping low-income working households keep more of the benefit
• The ?11.5bn Affordable Homes Programme, already underway, was reconfirmed
• Previously announced energy efficiency programme funds & commitments

Read Inside Housing's round-up here

The Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD) scheme aims to reduce carbon emissions and support Nottingham's ambition to become Carbon Neutral by 2028.

This will be achieved by improving the energy efficiency of homes within Nottingham by aiming to increase Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings to level C, which should significantly reduce household energy bills.?

Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- household income of <?30,000 per year
- home's EPC rated D or below
- home within Nottingham city boundary
- occupier either owns the home or the property is privately rented.

Click?here for further details or?here for more detailed information on LAD.

Since March 2020, the Warm Homes Hub has supported over 2,000 homes in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to heat them more affordably. The scheme is delivered by Nottingham Energy Partnership and Age UK Nottingham & Nottinghamshire who have teamed up with energy supplier E.ON and local councils to deliver practical measures and financial support.

Eligible residents benefit from the free install of central heating, connection to the gas network, and in some cases the installation of loft and cavity wall insulation. With a little over two months left to the end of the scheme, residents are being urged to check if they are entitled to improvements and support. Find out more including eligibility criteria here or call 0115 985 3000.

Landlords and Managing Agents in Nottingham are invited to join a free online event with Nottingham City Council?s Safer Housing Team on Wednesday 3rd November.

At the event, there will be updates from the different teams on the work they have been doing and offering scheme updates.

There will also be an update on the Government's Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) Regulations and what landlords need to do to meet these.

DASH and Unipol, in partnership Nottingham City Council will be hosting the event live on ZOOM. For further details and to register your attendance visit?https://tinyurl.com/2er8dmkt?

Nottingham Private Rented Assistance Scheme (NPRAS) works with individuals and families to find them homes to rent, many of whom have found themselves homeless through no fault of their own.

The scheme helped over 400 households secure private rented homes in 2020/21, but with more households finding themselves at risk of homelessness more landlords are being sought to join the scheme.

Benefits to landlords include a free Lettings Service, access to a low-cost Management Service for only ?35pcm and a Landlord Support Service to help prevent evictions where there is a problem in a tenancy. For further information including contact details visit www.npras.co.uk

Captain Albert Ball VC Memorial Homes is one of Nottingham Community Housing Association's almshouses located in Lenton. The two-star listed main building and the cenotaph were built in 1922 to remember Albert Ball, a local fighter pilot who died during World War I.?

NCHA have undertaken work to restore and preserve the cenotaph, replace the windows adding secondary glazing, update the path and boundary wall, give the building a fresh paint and repair brickwork.

NCHA's almshouses are a form of social housing, typically funded by a charity. The Albert Ball scheme is one many NCHA almhouses in the East Midlands.? Full article here

Twenty new energy-efficient, modern, affordable council homes have been built on a former pub site in Top Valley, providing much needed council homes for families.

These homes were officially named Alan Clark Grove after the former Bulwell Forest Councillor sadly passed away in 2017.? Councillor Clark worked tirelessly for the local community in Top Valley and the naming of the new development ensures his legacy lives on.? The homes are owned by Nottingham City Council and were built by Nottingham City Homes and contractor Robert Woodhead Ltd.

Pictured L-R are Nottingham City Councillors Linda Woodings, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Heritage, and Eunice Campbell-Clark, Alan's wife. Read more here

Nottingham Community Housing Association have submitted a planning application to redevelop a former college site on Farnborough Road, Clifton.

The proposed energy-efficient mixed-use development includes:

- New headquarters incorporating a call centre, training facility, maintenance depot and cafe
- 50 apartments for older people with onsite support & communal facilities
- 14 apartments & six bungalows for supported living
- Retention of existing sporting facilities
- Parking for 185 cars and up to 30 cycle stores

The development has been sympathetically designed to make sure it doesn?t compromise the openness of the countryside views, and? incorporates living walls and green roofs throughout to add to the rural nature of the setting. Read more?here?

Local homelessness Charity Emmanuel House are?working towards reopening their night shelter for the winter period.

In winter 2020/21 the shelter was funded to operate from hotels due to Covid-19 related restrictions and the charity and its partners have been working hard to secure the delivery a new Covid safe option better aligned to the pre-pandemic offer.

Emmanuel House are currently recruiting to 2 x vacancies for staff to support the shelter? that will meet the needs of rough sleepers into successful sustained resettlement. Details here

Opportunity Nottingham will?stop taking referrals?permanently?at midday on Friday 29^th?October 2021.

Supporting people facing Severe and Multiple Disadvantage (SMD) in Nottingham since 2014 the National Lottery Community Funded project reaches the end of its 8 year lifecycle in June 2022.

During the final months of project delivery the frontline team will focus on supporting current beneficiaries, ensuring they have appropriate and long-term support in place beyond the life of the project.

Nottingham has recently been awarded funding to support people facing SMD, via the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and the National Lottery Community Fund, as part of the Changing Futures?programme. This funding will ensure that dedicated support in the city continues until 2024. Further details here

The average price of a home in Nottingham according to the latest UK House Price Index is ?172,762. This is an annual increase of 9.3% and, to provide further context, only 14 months since the average Nottingham home cost less than ?150,000, illustrating the impact of the pandemic and associated policy interventions.?

Despite such an uplift, annual growth to August 2021 in Nottingham was actually lower than that of England (9.8%), the region (10.3%) and county (9.7%). House price growth is widely expected to slow after pre-pandemic Stamp Duty Land Tax exemption levels were reinstated this month.

Average rents in Nottingham grew 7.9% over a year to ?743pcm according to Hometrack?s UK Rental Market Report for Q2 2021. After slower annual growth during the majority of the pandemic, the city once again topped the list of UK cities for housing rental prices.?

Despite average rents in Nottingham being 6% lower than the rest of the UK excluding London a single earner in the city can expect to spend more (28.2%) of their income on rent in comparison (27.1%)

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