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Jim McManus

Director of Public Health

Why Housing and Place are important to Health

Hertfordshire Forward AssemblyMonday 7th July 2014

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The evidence journey

• Enduring effect of place on health even after controlling for all other variables

• Housing as foundational

• Place as foundational

• Salutogenic/Obesogenic environment

Lowry, 1991

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Overarching Objective One – To create and develop healthy and sustainable places and communities in Hertfordshire

The Public Health Strategy for Hertfordshire recognises that the built environment and environmental quality are key determinants of health

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Outcome: The Public Realm as a Public Health Asset

• Planning

• Public Realm as setting for PH

• Housing

• Environmental infrastructure

• Tobacco Control (smoke free playgrounds)

• Sustainability

• Safety (20mph limits, Licensing)

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Some big topics to work on

• Planning and Health work better together• The public realm and health

• Integrate planning, transport and health systems

• Safety, self-propelled transport

• Housing• Quality, Housing as a setting, Foundation

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What have we done ? Planning

• TCPA – reuniting planning with health project Phase 2

• Links to three “hot topics” we need to work on in Herts and some “obvious” quick wins

• Herts briefing here http://www.tcpa.org.uk/data/files/Health_and_planning/Health_Phase_2/TCPA_FINAL_Hertfordshire_briefing_ONLY.pdf

• Herts alcohol and planning stuff here

• http://www.tcpa.org.uk/data/files/Health_and_planning/Health_Phase_2/McMANUS.pdf

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Work underway - planning

• Develop planning policy to tackle three public health concerns facing Hertfordshire:

– the prevalence of hot food takeaways,

– alcohol consumption

– and access to high quality green spaces

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Rationale

• The provision of current and future healthcare services and infrastructure

• The removal of environmental “things” which negatively affect human health

• The provision of those things which have positive impact on human health

• Building and embedding a culture of Public Health approaches across Hertfordshire

• Quick Wins

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Overarching Objective Two –Increasing Active Travel and Physical Activity

• Creating environments to support active travel, focussing on walking and cycling

• Promoting and creating built or natural environments that encourage and support physical activities

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How do we do it?

• Early days

• Culture Change - year of cycling – four year culture change programme

• Translating ideas into deliverable programmes

• Schemes such as being delivered in Broxbourne

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Overarching Objective Three-Reducing the impact of poor housing on health

• Scoping a Housing Agenda

• Including quality, quantity, specialist need etc

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How do we do it?

• Link spatial planning with designing healthy communities

• Develop a comprehensive JSNA on housing needs

• Work with Housing Providers and Housing Standards enforcement departments

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What have we done?

• Held a Scoping Event in March involving Social Landlords and District Council officers

• Funded Districts to participate in the Housing Cost Calculator Scheme

• Co-operated with the largest Housing providers when targetting areas for projects (B3 Living for Broxbourne’s Obesity project)

• Commented on Local Plans

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Example: Planning in Broxbourne

• Obesity in core strategy

• Planning approach to Obesity

– Children

– Adults

• Whole System Obesity Pilot for Herts

• Sustainable Community Strategy and Core Strategy has Health Ambitions

• Inputs into Herts Quality of Life report

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Quick Win: Smokefree Parks

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Hot Topic: Alcohol

• Licensing issue

• Crosses 3 County portfolios and 10 Districts

• Police and Crime Commissioner

• New governance workshop

• New Strategy, New Governance, New Approach

• Inputs into Herts Quality of Life report

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Next steps• Secondments – housing and planning/place

short term work

• Commissionining – Year of Cycling, ParkRuns, Health Walks

• Licensing –model policy for licensing committees

• Housing Health Costs Calculator

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Thank you!

Jim.mcmanus@hertfordshire.gov.uk

www.hertsdirect.org/healthinherts

E Learning portal www.hertsdirect.org/phelearn