You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Conservative mayor calls for Homes England powers to be devolved
Homes England’s powers should be devolved to combined authorities and the money should be distributed directly to regions, the Conservative mayor of the Tees Valley has said.
Speaking to a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference on devolution, Ben Houchen argued that the government’s housing delivery agency is inefficient and unnecessary.
He told the audience: “You don’t need Homes England.”
The Conservative mayor claimed that there are “bureaucrats” in the agency who “have never even been to the North of England”.
READ MORE
Currently, grant funds for housing are allocated by Homes England, except in London, where Sadiq Khan controls the money.
Mr Houchen said he thought this system should be replicated in the rest of the country, as regional mayors are more likely to know what their local areas need.
In February, Mr Houchen was one of four mayors who wrote to Theresa May over housing funds. They asked her to reconsider the way allocations are calculated, arguing that too much focus was on London.
He is the first mayor of the Tees Valley region, which covers Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington, Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool and Middlesborough. He has the power to instigate mayoral development corporations and controls a £450m, 30-year investment fund.
His election last year was regarded as a shock nationally, as the Labour candidate had been widely expected to win.
Mr Houchen did not release a manifesto during the election, but he did pledge to solve housing need in the region by building a 3,000-home garden village and argued in favour of building on the green belt.
Last year, plans were unveiled for a 4,500-home garden village in the region, north of Darlington.
Speaking after the conference, the mayor told Inside Housing: “Homes England does some fantastic work building communities driving sustainable housing growth across the country.
“However there is a clear and convincing case, I feel, for a lot of the organisation’s powers and resources to be devolved to locally accountable Mayoral Combined Authorities. That doesn’t mean Homes England should cease to exist, but that local regeneration bodies like mine should be allowed to step up and deliver the high-quality, affordable homes we desperately need. I have always said that the best answers for local people should come from local people, and I really mean that.”
Speaking at a separate fringe event – also on devolution – Marvin Rees, the Labour mayor of Bristol, said that the government needs to “take its foot off the neck of cities”.
Speaking generally, not specifically about Homes England, he said: “If we had an opportunity as a city – like a business – to say this is where our funding comes from, whether it be public money or private investment over the next 10, 15, 20 years, we could do that.
“That’s perhaps best illustrated by the fact that we don’t know what’s going to be in the budget until it’s announced. There should be a conversation beforehand.”
Update: at 17.09 on 3.10.18 This story was updated to clarify that Mr Houchen only believes Homes England’s powers should be devolved in areas with combined authorities.
Update: at 17.51 on 3.10.18 This story was updated with an additional comment from Mr Houchen.
