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Two combined authorities rule out bidding for £1bn borrowing headroom
The West Midlands and the West of England combined authorities have ruled out bidding for part of the £1bn of extra borrowing headroom offered by the government.
Speaking at MIPIM 2018 in Cannes this morning, the mayors of the two regions, Andy Street and Tim Bowles, both said they did not intend to try to bid for the funds.
The West Midlands Combined Authority had previously told Inside Housing that it “would obviously be interested” in bidding if the funds were made available to combined authorities as well as local authorities.
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Autumn Budget last year included an offer to councils of £1bn additional Housing Revenue Account (HRA) borrowing headroom.
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The bidding process has not yet begun for this money, but local government sources claim that officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have said that metro mayors would be able to negotiate chunks of the funding as part of their regional housing deals.
Combined authorities do not have an HRA, but sources had suggested that any money for social rented homes secured in mayoral housing deals would likely come from this budget.
In response to Inside Housing asking if he’d considered bidding for the funding, Mr Street, mayor of the West Midlands, said: “No, because it’s all about the HRA account, and that’s the local authority piece. So the one-word answer is no.”
Mr Bowles, mayor of the West of England, added: “I agree with Andy.”
Many councils are expected to bid for the extra borrowing headroom, which has been a key ask for local authorities for some years.
The bidding criteria have not yet been announced, but are expected to be released along with further details towards the end of March or in early April.
Takeaways from MIPIM: day one
- The London Pavilion is packed...
...but slightly fewer councils from the capital have a stand this year – although others have sent representatives. If the rumour mill is to be believed, the fact that we’re in an election year has encouraged some to put off the opportunity for photocalls at the seaside until 2019.
Indeed, Inside Housing spotted the first open wine bottle of the day as early as 9.15am. It’s not difficult to see why some local authorities felt their residents might not fully understand.
- Office to resi is less of a talking point than last year
This is thanks to a number of councils having introduced Article 4 orders to prevent further offices being converted into homes.
However, there is concern that office-to-resi conversions that have already taken place are having an impact on local markets, with some schemes that had been earmarked for redevelopment to higher-quality housing having been put on hold because the conversions have proved so easy to let – and thus profitable – to localities starved of affordable options.
- This is a council party
Many of the bigger housing associations are in attendance, but it is local authorities who continue to dominate, with everyone from Cornwall to Belfast and Glasgow represented.
Housing associations in attendance include Clarion, Catalyst, Hyde, Genesis, Network, Radian, Swan and Your Housing. Peabody was also in attendance, looking for investment in one of the biggest regen schemes in Europe – Thamesmead.
- The freshly launched Homes England has turned out in numbers to show the market it means business
Chief executive Nick Walkley, who has already said he wants to deliver with “volume” and “pace”, is here, along with much of his senior team.
Those also in attendance include chair Edward Lister, deputy chief exec Tom Walker, head of strategy Louise Wyman, chief investment officer Gordon More, executive director for land Stephen Kinsella, and Sophie White, head of infrastructure, private rented sector and complex projects, who last week told Inside Housing about future plans for the agency's £3bn Home Building Fund.
- Diversity is on people's minds
MIPIM has always been infamous as an overwhelmingly male environment, and some of the more unsavoury stories about the conference’s history are not unrelated to this phenomenon.
This year, the increased scrutiny on issues of gender seems to have encouraged at least some people to keep diversity in mind.
A panel of metro mayors asked the chair specifically for more questions from women, and the words “presidents” and “club” have been overheard more than once.
- Regeneration is not dead
Estate regeneration has faced political and economic challenges in recent years, but enthusiasm for such projects lives on undiminished in Cannes.
The situation has been especially problematic for developers in central London, where the ailing luxury market has made cross-subsidy for affordable housing difficult to deliver. And that’s without mentioning the growing political problems.
Havering Council, though, popped corks today as it announced its partner for a £1bn regeneration scheme spanning 12 estates: Wates.
