Best Value Questionnaire

As part of the government's call for all publicly financed bodies to subscribe to the culture of "best value", a number of associations, including Hearth, have carried out pilot projects in best value during the year. Hearth chose to look at how to integrate the wishes of tenants with looking after the historic character of our buildings - something which we do consider all the time, but had not explored before in depth.

The results of the questionnaire which was sent out to all our tenants in the spring (and which was returned by nearly 75%, a very creditable figure) proved very interesting. There were of course some areas where tenants were not entirely pleased, but on the whole we found we had common objectives.

A detailed summary of the questionnaire response follows, but some points can interestingly be highlighted:

Although three-quarters of Hearth's tenants did not apply to us because they were interested in historic buildings, over 60% say they prefer living in an old building rather than a new one, and 90% say they take a pride in the age of their house; almost 80% say that visitors comment favourably on their house. Nearly 80% said Hearth was right to retain the traditional design of windows in their buildings. The level of interest in the built environment was underlined by over 40% of tenants saying they would accept limited television reception if the only alternative was a prominent aerial on their house (nearly 20% said they would not miss television at all, or not miss it much, if it wasn't available).

The main complaints that emerged from the questionnaire were problems from windows that were perceived as draughty or hard to open, with about 60% reporting problems with one or more windows. This is a serious matter, and Hearth proposes to look closely at the causes for this dissatisfaction. It may be possible to remedy it with draughtproofing systems (some of which are fairly discrete), and this will be looked at in the course of ensuing cyclical repairs; but the draughts will in some cases be caused by convection from large single glazed windows, and in other cases the level of draught may be no more than is required by modern building regulations to ensure proper levels of air changes. The strong level of support for retaining the original design of windows points to the need for good maintenance rather than wholesale changes.

As well as the formal questions, there was a chance for tenants to make general comments. 34% chose to comment on the desirability of keeping old buildings in general, and praised Hearth's role in setting an example and providing the choice of living in an old house. One tenant commented that she gets pleasure from living in a house that was formerly the blacksmith's forge where her father would have brought horses in to get shod. Some other comments were:

I like the idea of small houses being restored with the care that is usually only given to grander places. I think this was a very interesting scheme for Hearth Housing Association to undertake and as years go on it will become even more important to history students etc.

If there were no old buildings we would lose our history. Hearth is not only creating homes for people but keeping our history alive.

Hearth do a wonderful job of restoring old buildings for tenancy and I'm very proud to be a tenant in such a house. It's very important to keep historic buildings - where would we all be if we didn't have these buildings to look back on.

Hearth's committee has been very interested in the results of the questionnaire, and intends to look closely at the areas of dissatisfaction; however it also feels that the support from tenants for keeping old buildings underlines the lack of choice which public sector tenants here have. Thanks to the wholesale redevelopment of our towns in the seventies and eighties (which is still continuing), Northern Ireland has a very small percentage of buildings predating the last war, and this is particularly the case with public sector housing.

Nearly all housing association schemes involve new building rather than restoration. But is this what tenants really want? Hearth's best value exercise indicates that most tenants enjoy living in old houses as long as they can be made comfortable and provided with modern services. Not only that, but their visitors enjoy seeing the houses.

Yet according to the Housing Executive's 1996 House Condition Survey, only a fifth of the province's housing stock was built before 1919, and it has probably decreased by a further 5% since then with further demolitions and new developments. That means that more than 70% of Northern Ireland's houses were built in the last fifty years. The remaining old houses are still enjoyed by most of their inhabitants, and we all know people who are looking for that elusive old house with "character".

As Lord Dubs said on many occasions while he was Minister for the Environment here, once an old house has been pulled down it can never be put back - the demolition of historic buildings is an irreversible action, and something charming or curious is often lost in the process. Perhaps the providers of public housing should think twice before they pull down yet another old street?

 

Analysis of the questionnaire:

% of response   TELEVISION AERIALS     How many hours of television do you watch in an average day?  5 hrs   Do you watch, or strongly want to watch, RTE channels (which often require a larger aerial)?   31% yes, 29% no Do you have, or intend to get at any stage, satellite or cable television?   51% no (15% would like cable, 11% already have it) Would you be prepared to put up with limited reception if the only alternative was a prominent television aerial on your house?   45% no, 43% yes If you could not receive a good signal, how much would you miss television?   65% a lot, 15% not a lot, 4% not at all Do you have, or intend to get, access to the Internet?   17% already on, 5% intend to get on   WINDOWS     Are any of your windows draughty?   74% yes, 23% no Do any of your windows rattle in high winds?   60% yes, 38% no Are any of your windows hard to open?   58% yes, 31% no Do you suffer from condensation?   38% yes, 52% no Do you think that the outside appearance of your windows matters?   89% yes, 8% no Do you think that Hearth is right to retain the original style of windows in its buildings?   78% yes, 12% yes but... LIVING IN OLD BUILDINGS     Did you originally apply to Hearth because its houses are historic?   72% no, 23% yes Given the choice, would you prefer to live in an old building or a new one?   62% old, 21% new Do you take a pride in the age of your house?   90% yes Did you find the history of your house in Hearth's brochure interesting?   97% yes Did it make you view the house differently?   66% yes (some others said no, theyalready admired their houses!) Do other people comment favourably or unfavourably on your house?   77% favourably or very favourably Do you consider your ceilings too high/too low/just right?   68% just right or "beautiful" What do you most dislike about being in an old house?   27% heating cost; 18% draughts; 25% "nothing" What do you most like about being in an old house?   38% character; 27% history

There were some additional questions that did not lend themselves to statistical analysis, and we also asked tenants which feature of their own house gave them particular pleasure. This produced a very varied response - not surprisingly, since our houses include such a wide range of buildings from tiny almshouses to flats in large Georgian houses. Fireplaces were cited as their favourite feature by 15% of tenants, while 12% chose the windows; others liked sloping ceilings, high ceilings, ceiling roses, chimneys, narrow staircases or steeply pitched roofs. Nearly everyone picked something (and 6% said "everything"!), but the variety underlined the fact that not only does everyone have different tastes and interests, but that Hearth's houses vary so much in style and character.

 

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