Blog: Let’s tell the story of housing associations in Scotland
SFHA’s former CEO, Mary Taylor, calls for contributors to a new book on the history of housing associations in Scotland.
By Mary Taylor
Who needs books! If someone wants to know about housing associations in Scotland, they might look for a book about it. They might find a couple - about the origins of community control of tenement renewal in Glasgow, or about affordable rural housing. But that’s it really apart from annual reports and websites.
So, with next year marking a 50-year milestone since the 1974 Act - which brought registration and funding for housing associations, surely, it’s time to celebrate the achievements of associations across the country in all their marvellous variety.
But books have to be written. So, I’ve put together a proposal for this and am talking to a publisher about specifics for publication next year. Ideally, this would be an edited collection with contributions from different authors, with the first half exploring different phases in the history of housing associations:
Before 1974 (start of registration and supervision)
74 – 84 Early post registration (renewal and special needs)
85 – 95 Expansion of HA model and funding to rural communities
88 – 2008 ‘Community ownership’ (peripheral and whole stock)
Since 2008 Merger, groups and ‘consolidation’
The second half will aim to cover common themes, drawing together threads from the first half, including finance, governance, regulation, innovation, demographics, and tenancy, shifting policy agendas, political engagement, affordability, technology, energy and more. The authors for the first half will have the opportunity to influence which themes are covered and how.
To make this a properly collaborative endeavour, I plan to hold an event in June, primarily for those interested in writing or contributing materials but also for those interested in reading and commenting.
If you’re interested in taking part, please contact me by 15 May through LinkedIn or by email. And when you are getting in touch, please suggest how you would like to collaborate.
If there’s a deluge of volunteers (!), I may have to select who to work with to keep the process manageable. But I would rather have that problem than no volunteers or not enough. So, make sure you spread the word to anyone who think might have something to offer.