latest news 

We’ve popped up fairly regularly in the Big Issue over the years. This is partly because they like what we do – our linking of construction and homelessness. And also because their ‘Big Issue Invest’ arm has lent us money for empty property renovation projects. Our Chief Executive is interviewed this month on the Big Issue digital edition, talking all about PHASES and its origins.

We haven’t updated for quite a while on our aspirations to get involved in new build projects. The pandemic put these ideas on hold but since then we’ve been looking at various possible avenues. Most recently, our contacts at Southwark Council put us in touch with a private owner in Nunhead who wanted to convert an existing shop and flats into seven units for social housing. We carried out a thorough assessment of the project but sadly decided that it wouldn’t add up for us. Our search continues…

The Government announced a consultation on a new ‘Right to Regenerate’ back in January. This would enable the public to convert vacant plots of land and derelict buildings into new houses or community spaces. Under the proposals, charities and other community organisations would have first right of refusal to purchase underused land and buildings in England, with land to be sold by default unless there is a compelling reason not to. PHASSES fed into the consultation which concluded at the end of March. We currently await the outcome as this type of legislation could open the way for future projects.

It’s twenty years ago this month that PHASES first began its journey and registered as a charity. Back then our name was Advocates for the Homeless and we concentrated on advice to homeless people across London. Over the past 15 years we’ve focussed on training homeless people in construction skills and renovating empty homes. We’ve brought over twenty properties back into use as affordable accommodation and trained more than 200 homeless people in that time. Thanks to all the people and organisations who have supported us in our work since 2001 !

We are pleased to confirm that, following the easing of lockdown restrictions, our construction training workshop in Rotherhithe is open again following a four-month closure. A bit of a backlog has built up but an initial new cohort of five trainees has now started. If you want to refer anyone who is currently or recently homeless, then drop an email to Stuart@phases.org.uk for more details.

PHASES has recently secured funding through the EQUIP Programme. This a joint European Social Fund and Employment and Skills Funding Agency programme of grants to community-based organisations to improve the employability of participants. The funding will cover the costs of our training workshop for the next 18 months and enable us to work with 30 homeless people from across London, improving their construction skills and helping them into further training and work opportunities.

It’s been a challenging year for our new recruitment project – Construction Buddy. Early on in 2020, we signed up an initial cohort of recruits for the service and since then we’ve been working hard behind the scenes: getting employers on board; finalising the infrastructure for Construction Buddy; and making our first placements. If the pandemic allows, we’ll be pushing this exciting project forward in 2021.

The Big Issue magazine runs a feature this month on the Government’s plans to enable developers to convert office space into residential accommodation, without the need for planning permission. Our Chief Executive gives his views on how a large programme to build social housing would be a great boost for construction and could provide opportunities for PHASES’ trainees.

PHASES has been working with the national campaigning charity, Action on Empty Homes, on the design of a ‘toolkit’ for use by communities and local authorities to help tackle empty homes. PHASES is part of a small ‘reference group’ feeding in our experience, particularly in relation to the situation in London. A first draft of the toolkit has been approved for further review. For more on this see https://www.actiononemptyhomes.org/blog/developing-new-aeh-community-toolkit

Unsurprisingly, the lockdown is having a major impact on our services. Our workshop in Rotherhithe is a compact space and we were forced to close our training activities there in March. That is likely to remain the case for some months. Our Construction Buddy recruitment project has also been affected due to the disruption faced by the construction industry. Work with candidates and employers for that project is on hold for the moment but planning for this new service continues. Meanwhile, we continue to provide maintenance and support services to our tenants; within government guidelines.