Accelerated Delivery: Billions to be Invested Into Safe & Secure Affordable Housing

Announcements today show that government at both national and London level is moving beyond simply setting housing targets and is focusing on removing barriers to delivery. Emily Knowles, Gemma Duncan and Katie Millar explain what you need to know.

The UK Government has announced close to £10bn in funding for 33 Strategic Partners: councils, housing associations and other affordable housing providers across England (outside of London), under its Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP).

In London, the Mayor has announced a further £6 billion of SAHP funding focused on social rent and council homes.  This follows the recent publication of the new draft London Plan, intentionally shorter and more streamlined than its predecessor with its stated objective to maximise affordable housing delivery whilst supporting economic growth and investment across the capital through  a streamlined planning framework, accelerated brownfield development, greater Mayoral intervention powers, funding support to unlock stalled sites, and, notably, limited Green Belt release where strict public benefit tests are met.

This forms part of a £39bn package over 10 years to boost social and affordable housebuilding, ease pressure on providers, and accelerate delivery. The Government calls it a “major step in the ambition to getting councils building”.

A real opportunity for local and strategic authorities

This signals a significant Government push, backed by investment in councils’ skills and expertise, and pro-development planning policies in the recently published National Planning Policy Framework designed to ease housing delivery. Around £16bn remains to be allocated outside London and £5bn within London, and with council homes expected to be prioritised in the next tranche authorities should be preparing now.

Although the Strategic Partnership route has closed, applications remain open through Continuous Market Engagement (CME), ideal for smaller providers seeking scheme-by-scheme funding or flexibility for varied projects.

For the public sector three themes stand out:-

• First, public land remains one of the strongest levers for unlocking delivery where market constraints persist;
• Secondly, partnership models between the public and private sectors will continue to be central to bringing forward delivery of homes at pace and scale.
• Thirdly, whilst recent measures are intended to improve development economics, viability will remain a key issue; authorities must balance securing affordable housing outcomes with keeping schemes deliverable.

For authorities with identified or emerging sites, this is an opportunity not to be missed. Being development-ready with land, title, planning governance and delivery structures in good order will be key to attracting investment and moving quickly.

We can help

Our Planning and Real Estate teams can help navigate those issues to make the most of this new funding landscape. Get in touch to discuss how we can support your plans.