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Homes for the South West call for £1bn to ‘level up’ region
A coalition of housing associations based in the South West is calling on the government to invest an additional £1bn on affordable housing in the region.
In its new manifesto, Homes for the South West sets out a commitment to a £4bn development programme which it said will deliver 25,000 homes over the next five years.
The organisation said it can increase this by a further 20,000 homes if the government invests an additional £1bn.
An additional £1bn from government would allow the group to attract a further £3bn in private financing, the manifesto said.
Homes for the South West, which owns more than 245,000 homes, said the region has been one of the worst hit by the pandemic due to a reliance on sectors such as tourism and hospitality.
It said housebuilding will be critical to the region’s recovery and cited research that said the South West needs an estimated 42,000 new homes per year, including 15,000 affordable homes, in order to meet housing need.
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The group’s manifesto is also calling on the government to initiate public sector land reform and offer greater flexibility on tenures, which it said would prevent developments from land banking.
Victor da Cunha, chair of Homes for the South West and chief executive of Curo, said: “Good-quality, sustainable, housing that people can afford to live in is absolutely essential to the growth of economic and employment opportunities.
“That’s why we need to put housing at the heart of our post-COVID recovery in the South West. Homes for the South West members have the ambition and the capacity to help build back better and so we’re asking government to help us go further faster. This will not only support those hardest hit by the pandemic, but also help unlock the untapped potential of our region for the benefit of local people and the local economy.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg, MP for North East Somerset, said: “Building new homes, affordable to local employees, will support the regional recovery in the South West, enabling people to live near their place of work, while driving construction supply chains and creating new jobs in the future.”
Darren Jones, MP for Bristol North West, said: “In Bristol, like many other parts of the South West, we have some of the richest areas in the country next door to some of the poorest. Private rents have continued to increase and homelessness is on the rise.
“While local authorities across the region are working with housing associations to build affordable properties for social rent and shared ownership, more support is needed from government to accelerate these programmes and ensure that everyone has a safe and secure place to live.
“It’s essential that we take a long-term approach to this and, in particular, ensure that these new homes are warm and environmentally sustainable for the future.”
Wera Hobhouse, MP for Bath, said: “The shortage of affordable housing in the South West is constraining our region’s economic growth. We need to ensure we have a good supply of truly affordable homes so that all of our communities can flourish. If we are to truly level-up, social and affordable rented homes like those provided by Homes for the South West will have a significant role to play.”
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