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Homes England has never used the CPO powers it was granted six years ago
The government’s housing agency has never used the compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers it was granted in 2017, Inside Housing can reveal.
Using Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) legislation, Inside Housing asked Homes England how many CPOs it had used since the policy was introduced and the total number of homes brought forward as a result.
In its response to the FOI, the housing agency said: “We can confirm that Homes England does not hold the information detailed in your request.”
But in clarifying this position it said: “We have a duty to provide advice and assistance in accordance with Section 16 of the FOIA. To comply with this duty we are able to confirm that Homes England have not used any compulsory purchase orders to bring forward stalled sites since the policy was introduced in 2017.”
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The policy was introduced in 2017 during the Autumn Budget of Philip Hammond, then-chancellor. At the time, he said that Homes England would have additional powers to drive the development of new homes, including compulsory purchase where necessary.
In January 2018, the housing agency threatened the first use of its new CPO powers to bring forward a stalled 3,000-home development in Oxfordshire if it could not reach agreement with a company that owns a lease on the site.
Homes England issued a warning to aircraft parts designer Martin-Baker Aircraft Company that it will use CPO powers “as appropriate”.
In response to the FOI request, a spokesperson for Homes England said: “Over the last five years our main focus has been on boosting new housing supply. But as our new strategic plan makes clear, this is no longer the case.
“Whilst we continue to focus on increasing the availability of new affordable homes, we are very much the housing and regeneration agency, with a mandate to help revitalise town centres.
“Moving forwards we will absolutely make use of the legal powers available to us – including compulsory purchase orders – as we work with local places to drive large-scale regeneration.”
Despite having never used the powers, Homes England’s chief executive Peter Denton told Inside Housing in an exclusive interview that the housing agency is willing to use its statutory CPO powers to support ambitious affordable housing providers.
“Nothing would give us greater pleasure [than] to ensure that we keep these sites going,” he said.
