Housing associations should step up to be master developers

The government’s ambition to deliver 1.5 million homes rightly puts the focus on scale. But the challenge facing the country is not simply about building more homes. It is about building places that work.

This may sound obvious, but too often we still separate housing delivery from the wider ingredients that make communities successful. Residents can tell very quickly whether a place has been designed around people, or simply around land parcels.

Large sites cannot succeed if transport, schools and civic infrastructure are always playing catch-up. That is why I believe housing associations are well placed to take on a greater role as master developers.

“When you know your organisation will still be part of a neighbourhood decades into the future, design quality matters differently”

Unlike many traditional developers, our involvement in a place does not end when construction finishes. At Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community, Clarion will retain responsibility for the affordable homes and continue playing a stewardship role within the community long after the first phases are completed.

That changes decision-making.

When you know your organisation will still be part of a neighbourhood decades into the future, design quality matters differently. Public realm matters differently. Long-term management matters differently. You think harder about whether people will genuinely enjoy living there in 10, 20 or 30 years’ time.

At Tendring, those conversations have shaped the masterplan from the start. The proposals include up to five schools, health hubs, mobility hubs, a civic centre and a rapid public transport system connecting to Colchester and surrounding areas. More than 30km of mature hedgerows will be retained, alongside a 60-hectare country park and extensive green infrastructure.

Just as importantly, the first phase has been designed to create activity and community life early. Alongside more than 800 homes, the plans include Gateway Place, a new public quarter with flexible workspace, community uses, transport connections and a market square.

Too often, infrastructure and civic spaces arrive years after residents move in. By then, first impressions have already been formed.

The sector has spent years talking about placemaking. The challenge now is proving we can deliver it consistently and at scale, and partnership is a huge part of that.

At Dyecoats, the new neighbourhood at the edge of Leeds, collaboration between local government, Homes England, delivery partners and the private sector has been essential in unlocking a highly complex brownfield regeneration opportunity.

The same applies at Tendring, where years of work with local authorities, communities and stakeholders have helped shape proposals that respond to both housing need and local concerns.

“If the government wants the next generation of new communities to succeed, then long-term stewardship needs to sit at the heart of delivery models from the very beginning”

None of this is straightforward. Large-scale development is becoming harder to deliver. Infrastructure costs are rising sharply. Planning remains difficult and often unpredictable. Many private sector partners are also becoming more cautious about taking on projects with long delivery horizons and significant upfront risk.

That creates an opportunity for housing associations to step forward.

We bring patient capital, development expertise and experience managing communities over the long term. Crucially, we also bring a different motivation. We are not simply building homes to exit a site, we are helping create places that we expect to remain part of for generations.

That does not mean housing associations are the only answer, or that private developers and development corporations do not have a vital role to play – they absolutely do. Solving the housing crisis will require genuine partnership across every part of the sector.

But if the government wants the next generation of new communities to succeed, then long-term stewardship needs to sit at the heart of delivery models from the very beginning. Housing associations should be central to that conversation.

Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community is not the only model for delivering large-scale growth, nor should it be. But it does show what can happen when a housing association takes a long-term view of place, infrastructure and community from the outset.

The homes we build over the next decade will shape towns and cities for generations. The organisations leading them need to be prepared to stay for the long term too.

Richard Cook, chief development officer, Clarion Housing Group

Richard Cook is speaking at Housing 2026, taking place 23-25 June. Find out more below