North West cash boost to build social housing

Thousands of desperately needed new homes are set to be delivered across the North West, as derelict wasteland sites are transformed through a £40 million brownfield boost announced today (Friday, 7 November).

The latest round of funding will spark work on 555 new homes in the Liverpool City Region, building on top of 4,000 already in the pipeline thanks to £60 million previously invested for the Liverpool City Region.

Going straight into the hands of councils, this major cash injection will tear down crumbling buildings, old car parks, and disused industrial land, wipe the slate clean, and build thriving neighborhoods back up again.

Greater Manchester has also received £25.8 million to unlock even more new houses and revive run-down sites across the region.

Today’s boost comes alongside a massive £1.8 billion indicative spend marked up for social and affordable housing in Greater Manchester and £800 million for the Liverpool City Region.

Major funding pledged today will turbocharge social housing plans by enabling providers to get going on bids for projects, break ground sooner, and kickstart thousands of desperately needed new homes for local families.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said:

“This investment will be lifechanging for thousands of families in the North West waiting for a safe, secure home of their own.

“We’re putting our regional Mayors firmly in the driving seat to build – with new cash to turn wastelands into homes and slash social housing waiting lists.

“We’re backing the area all the way to get spades in the ground, fire up those diggers, and build, baby, build.”

The cash injection will also fire up local jobs and drive growth, backed by the government’s record £39 billion investment in the Social and Affordable Homes Programme to deliver around 300,000 social and affordable homes over its lifetime.

For the first time, both Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, working with Homes England, will shape the course of action for new affordable housing money in their regions, setting out ambitious plans for the types of homes that get built, the sites prioritized for construction, and how many suitable bids for grant funding could come forward in each area.

This means homes are built where they’re needed most, designed around local priorities, and shaped by people who know their communities best.

Also announced today is over £420,000 in new funding for South Ribble and West Lancashire councils through the Council Housebuilding Support Fund, to accelerate the construction of council homes at a scale not seen in years.

This comes after the Housing Secretary made his first big intervention in the social and affordable housing space and hosted the industry’s biggest providers at a summit last month, urging key players in the sector to ‘Go big, go bold, and go build.’