Northern Housing Consortium Chief Executive Tracy Harrison said:
“There is a massive opportunity across the North to unlock land for up to 320,000 homes, helping provide much needed homes, regenerate communities and rebalance the economy away from London and the South East.
“But the current funding rules don’t work. Central government requirements mean some of the most deprived areas in need of regeneration are not being developed to provide much-needed homes. Brownfield Funding should be further devolved to give local government and combined authorities the flexibility to use it where it’s needed most.
“The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has started to review brownfield funding and the value-for-money appraisal process for housing and land investment. We are keen to work with the Government to deliver changes which will help our members regenerate communities and unleash the benefits of brownfield-first development.”
The NHC conducted and funded this research, and it included discussions with Mayoral Combined Authorities in the North of England.
‘Brownfield First – how devolved brownfield funding can build a new generation of homes in the North’ looks at why long-term funding is needed, and how devolution can increase the impact.
The “Unlocking Brownfield Land: Government value-for-money rules” document provides background information about how figures in ‘Brownfield First’ were calculated and an analysis of what government value for money assessments actually say to support unlocking more of the North’s brownfield land.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss either of these reports further contact: NHC Executive Director of Policy and Public Affairs: patrick.murray@northern-consortium.org.uk.
