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Metro mayors call for government housing investment

Four combined authority metro mayors have called on the government to review how it allocates funding for new housing in their regions.

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West Midlands metro mayor Andy Street (picture: West Midlands Combined Authority)
West Midlands metro mayor Andy Street (picture: West Midlands Combined Authority)
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Metro mayors call for government housing investment #ukhousing

Combined authority mayors call for better housing deal #ukhousing

“We should not lose out on funding because of lower house prices,” metro mayors tell government #ukhousing

West Midlands mayor Andy Street, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram and Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen made the plea in a co-signed letter to prime minister Theresa May.

They want a rethink of the formula used to allocate housing investment to ensure regions outside London and the South East do not miss out on funding.

The letter comes as the combined authorities are negotiating housing deals with ministers, which will see them agree to housebuilding targets in exchange for cash.

The metro mayors met today at a summit in Birmingham, hosted by Conservative mayor Mr Street, to demand greater investment and devolution for their areas.


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Mr Street said: “Because we each represent and work with several local authorities, we can provide the co-ordination and direction to accelerate the building of homes in our respective areas.

“But that requires government to provide the investment and powers so that we can deliver the new homes our regions and the country need.

“This needs to be a two-way relationship and needs to focus on brownfield and infrastructure provision, based on co-investment rather than continuous bidding rounds, which currently hinders our regional momentum.”

The mayors’ letter claims that areas with lower land values are disadvantaged in bids for the Housing Infrastructure Fund and Homes England investment because of the government’s allocation criteria.

“We should not lose out because our house prices are not as high as in London and the South East,” the letter adds.

It includes commitments to increasing housing delivery, regenerating brownfield sites and driving construction innovation and productivity.

The full letter is published below. The government has been approached for comment.

Dear Prime Minister,

As metro mayors, we met on 20 February 2018 in Birmingham to discuss our shared ambitions on housing and growth, and we call for your support and the government’s investment to accelerate our plans to provide more homes in our regions.

Housing is a UK-wide challenge

Housing supply is a challenge for all of our regions, and as we see new jobs and growth in the years ahead, these pressures will only get worse. We need investment in infrastructure and public services to unlock housing developments, and investment to regenerate brownfield sites which have been unused for years. We need to work together to increase supply and quality across all types of tenure, including homes for social rent.

Metro mayors stand ready to deliver

We as metro mayors stand ready to deliver ambitious plans to build more homes, improve the quality of homes and make homes more affordable. We commit to:

  • Work with our local authorities on joint plans for housing, transport and jobs
  • Increase housing delivery rates
  • Regenerate brownfields sites
  • Develop construction skills for the future
  • Drive innovation and productivity in the housebuilding construction sector

These plans will not just provide homes for our citizens, but will also deliver jobs for them and unlock productivity growth for the UK as a whole. As we seek to rebalance the UK economy, investment in housing is critical to a successful Industrial Strategy. We must take action together.

Government investment must support the whole of Britain

As the government invests in housing through the Housing Infrastructure Fund, housing deals, and Homes England investment, a new approach is needed. The way that government allocates housing funding relies heavily on land values, which puts some of our regions at a disadvantage. We should not lose out because our house prices are not as high as in London and the South East.

In the Marginal Viability funding round of the Housing Infrastructure Fund, announced this month, many brownfield developments in our regions lost out to areas where the land values are higher and the cost of development is lower, due to the funding formula used to assess the bids.

We call on you to review the criteria and weighting used for all government housing investment decisions, so that our city regions receive the investment that we need to provide housing and economic growth. We seek to work with government to accelerate brownfield development, and we need your support to ensure that funding supports our shared objectives.

We look forward to working constructively with you and your government to deliver a new housing agenda for our regions.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester

Ben Houchen, mayor of Tees Valley

Steve Rotheram, mayor of Liverpool City Region

Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands

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