Mayors outside of London will be given greater influence over the government’s multi-billion-pound affordable housing programme, as part of the Housing Secretary’s drive to accelerate the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
Through the government’s historic £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme, Mayors will now be able to prioritise indicative spending of £7 billion, split across six regions, for the first time that will provide secure, affordable housing faster for families priced out of home ownership.
Aimed to bring down record numbers of households stuck on social housing waiting lists, the new programme is expected to deliver at least 60% social rent homes – creating around 180,000 across England including Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and the North East where Mayors are raring to go and deliver.
More councils will also build social housing at a scale not seen in years, receiving millions of pounds to draw up plans this year that will unlock thousands of new council homes.
This comes after the Housing Secretary made his first big intervention in the social and affordable housing space and hosted the industry’s biggest providers at a summit last month, urging key players in the sector to ‘go big, go bold, and go build’.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: “Families have been trapped in so-called temporary accommodation for years or stuck on council waiting lists with no hope of a secure home.
“We’re changing that for good with the biggest boost to social housebuilding in a generation and getting behind mayors who are ready to build affordable housing across their regions.
“We’re also backing councils to build again and transform derelict sites into thriving neighbourhoods, urging them to go big, go bold and go build.”
For the first time Mayors, working jointly with Homes England, will shape the course of action for new affordable housing money in their regions, setting out ambitious plans for the types of homes that get built, sites prioritised for construction and how many suitable bids for grant funding could come forward in each area.
As part of these plans housing providers will be required to demonstrate how their bids align with local priorities, accelerating delivery of homes that genuinely meet local needs, ranging from specialist housing for older people to community-led projects.
The Housing Secretary and Housing Minister are calling on the sector to be as ambitious as possible in their bids for new grant funding, with the door to bidding officially opening in February, working hand in glove to maximise use of the record investment.
The new programme forms a cornerstone of the government’s Plan for Change to build 1.5 million homes this Parliament, putting social and affordable housing at the heart of delivery.
To further ramp up housebuilding, the government is removing barriers preventing councils building at scale. This includes a new route to bid into the Social and Affordable Homes Programme as well as allowing councils to combine Right to Buy receipts from sales with grant funding from next year.
The government will also shortly be informing councils of their initial offer under the latest round of the Local Authority Housing Fund and providing guidance on how they can apply for funding. The £950 million – the largest investment in the fund to date – will increase the supply of good-quality temporary accommodation for homeless families and driving down the use of costly B&Bs.
Laser focused on regional Mayors getting more spades in the ground, the government is also injecting £150 million to transform derelict brownfield sites into over 4,000 new homes. Awarded directly to mayoral strategic authorities, the money will unlock left-behind sites and create jobs, paving the way for more local families and working people to step onto the housing ladder.
Homes England Chief Executive Amy Rees CB said: “The importance of this funding cannot be underestimated in opening the door to thousands of new, affordable homes for communities across the country – and we will do everything in our power to ensure every penny of grant allocation helps deliver the right homes in the right places, at pace, for the people who need them.
“Our team is incredibly proud and driven to help create a new generation of affordable and social rent homes, working alongside local leaders who know their communities best, and providers who have the expertise and commitment to deliver with our support.”
Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, Kate Henderson said: “Today’s announcements send a clear signal that social and affordable housing remains a pillar of the government’s housebuilding ambitions.
“While the housing crisis touches all parts of the country, different areas have different needs. These plans will empower mayors to work alongside housing associations to meet the specific housing requirements of their local communities – be that family-sized homes, or homes for older people.
“With a record 170,000 children now homeless and living in damaging temporary accommodation, delivering on a decade of renewal for social housing has never been more important. Housing associations are already ramping up their plans for housebuilding and are committed to working in partnership with the government to deliver the homes our country needs.”
