黑洞社区

As costs in the NHS are rising, we should be looking at ways to try and reduce it, and one way is to ensure that the social housing stock is correctly maintained. Damp can lead to bronchial infections that require medical attention. If we remove this damp we will go one short step to reducing the burden on the NHS. Poorly maintained homes can also lead to conditions such as stress and depression.

Perhaps we need a team made up of sectors of the community such as GPs, engineers, tenants and architects to guide us in the delivery of better homes. Then maybe we should stop looking for pretty buildings that stand out from the rest and turn our thoughts to good strong robust buildings that will stand the test of time. Cabe refers to such designs in their document 鈥淣o more toxic assets鈥�, when they point us in the direction of Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian terraces. Perhaps we should take the principle of the design of these homes and use it to develop landmark buildings that deliver a real cost saving to the landlord and tenant while at the same time improving the health and wellbeing of the community.

John Gilmore