The Guardian 19th March 2013
St. Helena is like an atom, packing an awful lot more in it that you’d think. You can drive from France to Scotland via St Paul’s Cathedral in about half an hour. For £20 you can go deep sea fishing and keep as many 100kg (15st 2lb) tuna as you can land. I’ve seen dolphins leaping in the sea off the coast, humpback whales berthing off Jamestown and whalesharks swimming alongside boats.
St. Helena, part of the British overseas territory and off the south west coast of Africa, is home to the world’s rarest tree and the oldest Anglican church south of the equator. More confusingly, the most popular music genre here is country and western. Membership of the remotest golf club in the world costs £24 a year including all green fees, and I can watch most Southampton FC games via a South African TV link.
The island faces a lot of social challenges. New social homes are needed for both households on the waiting list and those being rehoused to make way for hotels. Capital investment in public services has not been matched by the funding to maintain them, so the hospital, schools, roads, utilities, prison and fire service are all competing with housing for reduced funding.
Local people are sceptical; they want fewer strategies and more results. So where to start?
I decided to begin with an Audit Commission-style review, which is a discipline I’d recommend to anyone starting a senior management job in housing. With social rents reflecting current incomes at around £18 a week, there has been little money for repairs and tenancy management. Resident consultation is still in its infancy.
Homes which were once fit for purpose now fall well below modern standards. One in 10 public sector homes lacks an inside toilet and none have a piped hot water supply. Most roofs are made of asbestos and are starting to fail. I’ve met stoic elderly tenants who have few complaints about homes where the bathroom and kitchen is on the other side of the courtyard and where outside toilets are around the corner.
We now have a list of 20 improvements for the housing management service. We have also set a new national minimum housing standard, started the first ever tenant consultation exercise, secured urgent funding to stop me having nightmares about fire safety, and found help for finance staff responsible for tackling rent arrears.
The most popular way to introduce yourself is not necessarily to increase rents by £1, but we need to generate income without hammering those on the margins of employment. It’s not just about rents; it’s about welfare benefits too.
We’ve commissioned master plans and land surveys for the three largest development sites. I have launched an international design competition for homes that are healthier and greener than traditional properties. There have been enquiries from all around the world, and it’s been worth for the publicity for the island alone.
The first new home for the island’s donkeys - a pretty solid structure with a concrete base and recycled steel columns and will have spectacular views from the fields above Lemon Valley. Basil Reed, the airport builders, built it as a goodwill gesture to the island.
We still have a long way to go to deliver real results through housing. The housing service remains fragmented and the island has no true housing market. Performance and project management is in its infancy, building costs are high and international investors won’t show their hand until the airport opens.
I’ve only been here four months so far but there’s a lot to do.
Andy Crowe is housing executive for the government of St. Helena. A more in depth account of his experiences can be found at solenthousing.co.uk while details of the design competition and the first St. Helena housing newsletter can be viewed the Government of St. Helena website.
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