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NHC calls on government to devolve and simplify brownfield funding
The Northern Housing Consortium (NHC) has called for the government to devolve and simplify funding for brownfield regeneration.
New research funded by the NHC found there is currently capacity for up to 320,000 new homes on brownfield land in the North.
A new report is calling for a £4.2bn funding package from the government over 10 years to help find homes for 420,000 Northerners on housing waiting lists.
The current Brownfield Housing Fund is set to support 24,000 new homes, but the NHC report said “Whitehall red tape” is getting in the way of building, and some brownfield sites are not eligible for funding.
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It said sites in areas with lower land values are often not eligible for funding, which means areas “most in need” of regeneration in the North are losing out.
The NHC is calling for the government to give combined authorities control over funding so they can use it in line with local priorities, and for more help with local planning laws.
The organisation said the amount of money awarded in the current Brownfield Housing Fund is based on population, but it should be allocated with a more “strategic view”.
It also said longer terms are needed for funding, as land remediation – the work done to return brownfield sites to a more natural and safe state – currently needs to be completed by March 2025.
It said more “complex” sites are not eligible for support as a result.
Patrick Murray, executive director of policy and public affairs at the NHC, said the timescales did not “reflect the reality of trying to plan strategically and unlock complex sites”.
He said: “In the case of regeneration projects, this can easily take up to 10 years, especially where there are complex ownership issues and land contaminated by heavy industry. Long-term funding for regeneration is a must if we want to unlock the most challenging sites and deliver the homes we need to, as a country.
“The reality is that the current rules imposed on brownfield funding are actually a particularly narrow interpretation of these rules.”
Mr Murray said that what the strategy was and how funding can be delivered and managed were just as important as the “economic case” in government parlance.
He added: “Which leads us back to proper devolution. Let the mayoral combined authorities identify the strategic priorities. Base the funding on that, give them the time to deliver on the ground, and the flexibility to fund the sites that need funding. Do that, and we can unlock those 320,000 homes.”
Ahead of the election, the NHC called for a new, long-term Affordable Homes Programme to offer increased flexibility in regeneration projects.
The organisation also wants a massive retrofit operation to improve older and colder homes across the region.
As part of the 10-year decarbonisation project, the NHC estimates up to 77,000 green jobs could be created, funded by a £500m-a-year investment by the government by 2030, and a further £1bn a year up to 2035, in order to progress towards net zero.
