NHC looks forward to working with new Prime Minister to ‘give hope for forgotten places’  

Andy Burham MP was today appointed as Prime Minister, the seventh Prime Minister in ten years.  

Mr Burham has promised to ‘do things differently’ and to take a more collaborative approach to politics. He has pledged to launch a new 10-year plan for Britian later this year, though he was keen to stress he will also make changes from the start, including ending rough sleeping and building more council houses.  

During his leadership he reiterated his support for devolution and spoke about the importance of regeneration.  

Northern Housing Consortium Chief Executive Tracy Harrison said:  

“We look forward to working with the new Prime Minister to give hope back to forgotten places. A good quality, affordable home is one of life’s essentials. Our Renew inquiry has found that housing-led regeneration can unlock at least 500,000 good quality homes across the North of England. It can bring hope by making sure more people have a great place to live, improving and residents’ health and wellbeing, and generating jobs. Housing-led regeneration – reviving struggling high streets with new homes, developing forgotten brownfield land, and renewing and redeveloping homes that no longer meet the needs of communities – can help bring growth to every postcode.  

“The new Prime Minister has acknowledged the importance of regeneration, so we hope he will seize the moment to build on investment that the Government has already made in housing, with long-term devolved regeneration funding, and support to build local capacity and expertise. Our policy recommendations are about ensuring that regeneration is viable and achievable across the North, which has diverse needs and challenges beyond our cities. As Lara Joyce, Secretary of Gleadless Resident’s Association said, we need “to make it safe to feel hope again”. 

“Andy Burnham is a big backer of devolution, and we know he wants to build on the success we have already seen in the North. In areas where devolution has progressed further, social housing providers and other partners have collaborated and have had real success scaling up what works for communities so more people and places benefit.”  

Many of our members in Greater Manchester have worked closely with Andy Burham during his time as Mayor. Northern Housing Consortium Chair, Chief Executive of MSV Housing, and Chair of Greater Manchester Housing Providers Charlie Norman said:

“It has been great working with Andy Burham in Greater Manchester for the last 9 years, collaborating on a place first and housing first agenda, with people at its heart.”