Unlocking over 500,000 good quality homes in the North
Housing-led regeneration can unlock at least 500,000 good quality homes across the North of England according to a new report published by our Renew inquiry today.
This includes reviving struggling high streets with over 100,000, new homes in town and city centres, building 320,000 homes on brownfield land and renewing or replacing 100,000 social homes in need of regeneration.
The report, which launched in parliament today, is based on evidence from organisations responsible for around 1 million of the North’s 1.4 million social homes. Insights from more than 160 regeneration schemes have informed the findings. Renew is supported by Homes for the North and placemakers Muse.
The research comes at a pivotal moment for the social housing sector, with significant new Government investment and growing devolution powers enabling northern leaders to shape housing, transport, and skills policy more effectively. However, regeneration in the North faces significant barriers including lower land values and high remediation costs for brownfield sites, making many schemes unviable without Government support. In addition, lower rents but similar costs for northern social housing providers means investment in refurbishing and replacing homes often comes at the cost of building new homes.
The Renew inquiry is calling for greater Government support to boost supply of new homes in the North, kickstart economic growth and create thriving communities.
Headline policy recommendations from the report ‘Unlocking over 500,000 good quality homes in the North’ include:
Long-term devolved regeneration funding
- A £500m per year, 10-year Place Based Regeneration Fund for Mayoral Strategic Authorities.
- Increase the term of the National Housing Delivery Fund to 10 years to unlock more sites with higher upfront costs.
A national framework to enable local delivery:
- A Minister for Regeneration to drive cross-government coordination.
Build local capacity and expertise:
- Create a National Centre for Regeneration, based in the North, to rebuild capacity across the sector and lead research and innovation.
Build trust with residents:
- Agree a set of standards and rights with residents involved in regeneration.
Northern Housing Consortium Chief Executive Tracy Harrison said:
“Now is the time to put the final pieces of the jigsaw in place to tackle the housing crisis, build thriving places and healthier homes, and deliver northern growth.
“This research shows that housing-led regeneration is essential to increase the supply of new homes, attract private investment, and boost economic growth in the North. It helps create great places to live, improves housing quality and residents’ health and wellbeing, generates jobs and skills opportunities, and promotes sustainability by providing greener, more energy-efficient homes that lower household bills.
“If the Government is serious about delivering 1.5m homes and making sure no-one and nowhere is left behind it must act now to further support housing-led regeneration in the North. Replacing old and cold homes people no longer want to live in will give forgotten areas a new lease of life, transforming communities and encouraging development.”
Chair of Homes for North and Group Chief Executive of Karbon Homes Paul Fiddaman said:
“Homes for the North strongly supports the Renew inquiry. Regeneration is central to delivering more and better homes, improving existing communities and unlocking the North’s economic potential.
“Our members have already mapped a major pipeline of regeneration opportunities across the North, including projects in some of the country’s most deprived communities, but too many schemes remain constrained by inflexible funding rules, viability gaps and fragmented delivery systems.
“Policy reform and long-term partnership with government at all levels to address these issues could enable housing associations to help turn a major regeneration pipeline into lasting social and economic value.”
Managing Director of Muse Phil Mayall said:
“We’re pleased to have supported this important new report published by the Northern Housing Consortium’s Renew inquiry today.
“The role of regeneration in not only tackling the housing crisis across the North but also supporting the socio-economic growth of communities is clear. Yet, for many in the sector, the ability to deliver high-quality homes for people to live as part of thriving, well-designed communities are held back by the barrier of viability.
“Across many towns and cities, brownfield sites are at the heart of regeneration ambitions, bringing disused and underutilised sites back into productive use. However, the financial viability gap remains a major obstacle.
“Without the right policy framework and investment, many otherwise deliverable projects will struggle to come forward. The recommendations in this report are an important step towards creating the certainty, funding and local capacity needed to unlock regeneration at scale.
“At Muse, we know from our work across the North that long-term partnership is critical to making complex regeneration happen. If we are serious about delivering more homes and creating successful places, we need to give local leaders and delivery partners the tools to turn ambition into reality.”
Over the summer, Renew will host a series of tours to regeneration sites across the North to learn lessons from successfully completed sites, projects in-progress and schemes unable to get off the ground despite clear regeneration needs. Further research and engagement will include looking at the role of tenant engagement in shaping and delivering successful regeneration projects.
You can access the full report and executive summary here.
