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New framework

There is a “healthy optimism” that the north could rise to the housing challenges identified by the Commission for Housing in the North, says Jo Boaden

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Over the past 12 months, the Northern Housing Consortium (NHC) has been involved in probably our most important and interesting work to date – the NHC Commission for Housing in the North. So much has been written about the housing crisis, yet few stopped and looked at how and why it was playing out so differently in different parts of the country.

We knew there were diverse housing pressures across the North – and that our members were keen to draw on the opportunities around devolution to do something about it – yet there was no clear framework for doing so in a way that properly reflected the nuances of northern housing markets.

We recognised that to understand the northern crisis in depth and to find practical solutions, we needed as comprehensive a range of knowledge, experience and perspectives as possible. And so the Commission for Housing in the North was formed.

Since its inception the commission has resonated with members from across political parties, the commercial and financial sectors, local authorities and housing providers. The commission has been able to call over 20 expert witnesses and to draw on the reach provided by the consortium’s membership to gather information and fact check findings.

The commission took two simple questions as its starting point: “What is different about the housing requirements, problems and opportunities of the North?” and “What needs to be done differently in the North to address these?”

The answers to these questions, and the investigative work we have undertaken to explore them, have been fascinating. We have heard some powerful qualitative evidence and excellent examples of best practice that have been used to supplement familiar quantitative data to shape our report.

In summary, the commission identified three elements to each question. In terms of what is different, first, we are simply not building enough new homes in the right places. It is this varied spatial aspect to stepping up supply to support northern economies that is distinctive. Second, products to help people access the housing of their choice have not caught up with the major recent changes in employment patterns in the North. Finally, there are too many concentrations of low-quality private properties (stemming primarily from our post-industrial legacy) that the market alone cannot improve.

Underpinning all of these, however, we found a healthy optimism that the north could rise to these challenges and had the right ingredients to drive and deliver a stronger housing offer. We heard evidence of good investment interest, innovative local leadership that was committed to growth, good land supply, and excellent value for money.

Moving on to the solutions, clearly there is no one single issue holding back the latent growth these positive factors should produce but the commission felt there were three key, interrelated areas that could together make a tremendous practical difference. First, for there to be a more place-focused approach to public investment and that localities need to have greater flexibility to agree their key growth priorities and develop the most efficient way of meeting them in the long term.

Second, realising new investment opportunities requires skills and knowledge that are now quite scarce. Local authorities in particular need to be able to step up the scale and pace of development. Finally, we need to find new ways and resources to revitalise places where the market is weak and the existing private stock unattractive.

The commission’s report was previewed in the House of Lords earlier this week and I’m sure you will find it an interesting and stimulating read. We do not want this to be a snapshot or state of the North kind of document for short-term lobbying, we want it to be the start of a practical conversation to spark an important upturn in developing and revitalising housing in our regions.

To make sure this happens and that the commission’s recommendations are taken forward into practice, the NHC will continue to support and resource this work. This will start with a major conference in Salford next month to properly launch the report. There we will seek opinions and ideas on the work of the commission as well as providing a platform to share information on the many excellent, innovative schemes and products we have seen that have the potential to transform northern housing markets.

In the meantime, the report is now on the NHC website and I am keen to hear your views on the commission’s findings and recommendations.

Jo Boaden, chief executive, Northern Housing Consortium

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