320,000 new homes on brownfield land to tackle the North’s housing crisis

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Our latest research report has found there’s capacity for up to 320,000 new homes on brownfield land in the North.

This will help the Government deliver 1.5m new homes over the next 5 years and play a part in finding homes for the 420,000 Northerners on housing waiting lists.

We’re calling for a £4.2 billion funding package from Government over ten years to prepare the brownfield land in the North for new homes.

The current Brownfield Housing Fund is set to support 24,000 new homes. However, NHC research has found Whitehall red tape is stifling the effectiveness of this fund and some of the North’s brownfield sites are not eligible for funding.

To deliver 320,000 homes over ten years, Government brownfield funding must be:

  • Devolved not delegated: Give combined authorities the control to use funding in line with local priorities.
  • More flexible with funding requirements: Current value-for-money requirements mean sites in areas with lower land values are often not eligible. Areas most in need of regeneration are losing out.
  • Longer-term: With the current fund, land remediation work must be completed by March 2025. This means more complex sites, such as contaminated land, are not eligible for support.
  • Supported by increased capacity in local government and combined authorities, including in planning. The government has said they will increase planning capacity which will help local government and combined authorities plan a strategic pipeline of Brownfield projects. But more needs to be done.

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.”

You can read “Brownfield First – how devolved brownfield funding can build a new generation of homes in the North” here. It includes fifteen recommendations about how the Government can more effectively fund brownfield development.

The NHC conducted and funded this research. It included discussions with Mayoral Combined Authorities in the North of England.