Housing-led regeneration is the missing ingredient for a more prosperous North

The latest ‘Seven New Towns’ announcement further reinforces a commitment to boosting housing delivery at scale, including two significant proposals within the North: Leeds South Bank, expected to deliver up to 20,000 new homes, and Manchester Victoria North, which plans to deliver at least 15,000 homes.

These announcements are good news for the North, offering the biggest boost to our larger cities. But what about the smaller towns and villages across the North, particularly those that are not yet covered by a mayoral strategic authority? One of the main objectives of our Renew inquiry into housing-led regeneration is to make sure that nowhere and no one is left behind.

The government has launched its Pride in Place Programme to empower local people to improve where they live, targeting some of our most deprived areas. But while this should improve community infrastructure, it does not address the fundamental need for a safe, warm home that’s affordable.

“If we don’t address housing-led regeneration, economic growth will be undermined by poor-quality housing and neighbourhoods, meaning some areas will continue to be left behind”

Decent homes provide the foundation for a healthier, more fulfilling life, with a lower cost of living, better employment prospects and stronger community resilience. In government language around priorities, this leads to higher productivity and economic growth.

In the North, particularly in our most deprived areas, we have a greater proportion of ageing homes, including those reaching end of life, quality issues (particularly in the private rented sector), and viability issues due to low land values. This is where housing-led regeneration comes in. 

It balances some core elements – new supply through redevelopment and use of existing land and estates, refurbishment and retrofit of existing homes, the replacement of housing no longer fit for purpose, and improvements to the surrounding area. The exact balance of these elements will vary across estates, towns and cities.

Housing-led regeneration capitalises on demand for homes unlocked through improved connectivity and infrastructure, directly creates jobs, links people into skills and employment opportunities and – very importantly – improves living standards.

If we don’t address housing-led regeneration, economic growth will be undermined by poor-quality housing and neighbourhoods, meaning some areas will continue to be left behind.

While there has been significant investment in housing, a fundamental gap around housing-led regeneration still exists, and this is felt most acutely in some of our most deprived communities. Housing-led regeneration must be prioritised across the North for social housing providers to really unlock the potential of people and places. We must reimagine the way we support this vital work. Place must be the focal point.

“We recently launched our Perspectives on Regeneration series, which brings together some of the North’s leading voices on regeneration”

Flexibility in funding to enable whatever is needed to fix the issues locally – whether it be unlocking new supply by tackling viability issues, replacing existing homes and refurbishing others, or working across tenures – is the only way we can really make a difference. Crucially, funding must be long term, in order to enable ambitious projects to be seen through, and we must make sure community voices are at the heart of regeneration.

Throughout the Renew inquiry, supported by Homes for the North and Muse, we will identify the need for housing-led regeneration, the benefits it brings, what we can already do with the new support on offer, and what more we could deliver with additional support. We’ll put resident voices and experiences at the heart of our work.

Together, we’ll explore what works and what doesn’t, and identify how housing-led regeneration can be done well to drive economic growth and build stronger communities in all areas of the North.

We recently launched our Perspectives on Regeneration series, which helps set the tone for the inquiry, bringing together some of the North’s leading voices on regeneration – indeed, some of the voices that inspired us to embark on this piece of work.

The collection showcases examples of what good looks like – where housing-led regeneration transforms lives as well as homes. I hope that reading these Perspectives will similarly inspire you.

Tracy Harrison, chief executive, Northern Housing Consortium