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More housing associations than ever before have been selected to build on public land.
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has announced its latest panel of builders to deliver housing on public sector land. The 70 chosen organisations include 14 housing associations, up from nine when the panel was last selected in 2013, and three for the first panel in 2010.
The panel, Delivery Partner Panel 3 (DPP3), is supposed to help public sector organisations find developers for their land more quickly and cheaply.
Housing associations including Home Group, Clarion and Sanctuary were picked for the first time, while Great Places and Gentoo were the only associations to be picked on all three panels since the scheme’s inception.
Brian Ham, executive director of enterprise and development at Home Group, which was selected for four English regions, said: “We’ve worked hard on our bid and we’re delighted to have been selected to take part in these framework panels.
“Home Group is committed to providing as many homes as possible to tackle the housing crisis. Being selected for DPP reinforces our commitment to become a developer of housing and to build 10,000 homes by 2021.”
In July last year, a report by the National Audit Office found that the government was meeting just 5% of its target for public land release.
Adam Morton, policy leader at the National Housing Federation, said: “This is further recognition of the sector’s growing ambition, financial strength and track record of delivering vital new homes.
“Housing associations are increasingly and rightly seen as key delivery partners. They are keen to ensure the right homes are built on these sites more quickly and across a range of tenures.”
Nick Walkley, chief executive of the HCA, said: “We hope as many local authorities and public bodies as possible use our improved Delivery Partner Panel to increase the pace of construction of new homes, while saving time, effort and costs.”
Peter Martin, development director at Sanctuary, said: “Sanctuary Group has ambitious plans to build over 30,000 homes by 2027. Our inclusion on the Delivery Partner Panel will provide us with additional opportunities to secure land for new developments across the country and help meet the targets set out in our business plan.”