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West Midlands housing associations enter development joint venture with combined authority

A group of five landlords have partnered with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to launch a new affordable housing development vehicle.

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The joint venture will focus on a mix of tenures (picture: WMCA)
The joint venture will focus on a mix of tenures (picture: WMCA)
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A new affordable housing development vehicle has been set up in the West Midlands involving five housing associations and the combined authority #UKhousing

The WMCA has signed a memorandum of understanding with the five landlords to develop a business case for the vehicle, which aims to drive affordable housing development, economic activity and housing policy objectives.

The five housing associations involved in the project are Accord, Bromford, Citizen, Midland Heart and WHG.

Rob Lamond, strategic planning manager at the WMCA, told Inside Housing: “Five of the biggest RPs [registered providers] in the region are going to be investor partners.

“They are investing into an LLP [limited liability partnership] that they are creating as an investment vehicle and then that investment vehicle will form the joint venture with the combined authority.

“The RP group invest equity and we invest equity into the vehicle either in the form of assets or finance as well, and the 50/50 joint venture then works together to bring those sites forward to deliver, with a particular emphasis on delivery on brownfield land.”

All of the housing associations are part of the West Midlands Housing Association Partnership (WMHAP).


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Mr Lamond said the joint venture will focus on a “mix” of tenures and said delivery targets have not yet been set, although a target for the number of homes to be delivered in the first phase will be part of the full business case the group will be working on “in the forthcoming weeks”.

The total funding amount is still to be approved by the WMCA’s investment board and the housing associations’ boards, Mr Lamond added.

“We’ve agreed that it will definitely be a 50/50 venture, so our assets, whether that’s land or cash, will be matched 50/50 across the partners. We’re working on the business case for what those sites will be and how that cash flow and funding will be worked out for the specific sites,” he said.

In addition to increasing the delivery of affordable homes, the priorities of the partnership will include addressing market failure to unlock dormant sites and maximising construction on brownfield land.

The development vehicle will operate via the WMCA’s single commissioning framework, which provides a set of criteria to all housing projects receiving funding from the combined authority.

A similar joint venture was set up in 2018 between the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and 10 local housing associations.

The Manchester joint venture was set up with the initial aim to use public sector land to develop housing predominantly for private sale, using the profits to cross-subsidise affordable homes for each association member.

West Midlands mayor Andy Street said: “This ground-breaking new partnership brings the WMCA together with the combined expertise and resources of five of the largest housing associations within the WMHAP, with the aim of providing even more affordable homes for the people of the West Midlands.

“Our region has led the way on housebuilding with record numbers in recent years, but our focus now is on how we build even more that are truly affordable. Alongside our new definition of affordability, which links to income rather than the market rate, this partnership will help do exactly that.”

Mike Bird, leader of Walsall Council and WMCA portfolio holder for housing and land, said: “This coalition is central to our mission to utilise our stock of brownfield land to deliver inclusive growth and affordable homes.

“A key goal is to establish the region as the national leader in unlocking challenging brownfield sites, especially along key transport corridors and using them to create vibrant new communities that offer good-quality, affordable homes for local people.

“By injecting new life into derelict sites, we can help protect our green belt and drive an economic recovery that benefits all our communities.”

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