Homes England plans to roll out tool for sustainable placemaking

As part of these sustainability principles, the document outlined how the tool “allows partners to draw on clear standards, guidance and funding conditions that help to raise scheme quality”.

The document continues: “Alongside this, our in-house technical expertise exemplifies a range of capabilities that support sustainability and quality on some of our projects, including advice on sustainability policy, design reviews and Building for a Healthy Life assessments.

“In line with government policy, we will make investments that support new homes and mixed-use schemes that are well-designed, of good quality, and enable people to live more sustainably.

“This ensures that capital is aligned to positive environmental and social outcomes and can provide confidence to partners that this funding aligns with their own environmental, social and governance commitments. 

“We measure social value, placemaking, well-being and environmental impacts of housing and regeneration projects. Where relevant and applicable, we take these factors into account in investment decisions, enabling us to deliver against performance measures including maximising social value per pound of investment and lowering embodied carbon.”

These principles come together with new thematic areas, including a significant increase in land availability, support for new entrants, and supporting the growth and scaling-up of small and medium-sized house builders.

This is in addition to more support for sub-sectors of the housing market, such as build-to rent.

Announced in June last year, the bank will work with house builders, developers, investors and registered providers to deploy up to £16bn of debt, equity and guarantees.

Homes England hopes the National Housing Bank can leverage in £53bn of additional private investment over the next decade, creating jobs as well as delivering 500,000 new homes.

It will target a range of sites, including larger ones that struggle to get upfront lending due to risk and complexity.

The bank will also work with mayors through Homes England’s new regional model to strengthen collaborative working with partners and leaders.

In an interview with Inside Housing earlier this month, Danielle Gillespie, the agency’s new executive regional director for the North West, said the scale of ambition from partners is “running into many thousands of homes over a 10-year cycle”.

At the launch event, the agency’s senior leaders told Inside Housing about how the bank wants to work with the sector.