Homes England has published its new £16.4bn five-year strategic plan, which it says is both a “call-to-arms and an offer to the entire housing and regeneration sector”.
The government agency says between 2023 and 2028 it will work with over 5,000 housebuilders, bodies and local councils, such as Greater Manchester, to “deliver more good quality, affordable homes alongside the regeneration of towns and cities across England”.
The largest parts of the agency’s budget over the period will see it spend £5.7bn on affordable homes, £4.2bn on investments and £2.3bn on housing infrastructure grants.
The body says it has five objectives:
- Supporting the creation of vibrant and successful places that people can be proud of
- Helping to create homes people need, intervening where necessary to ensure places have enough homes of the right type and tenure
- Building a housing and regeneration sector that works for everyone
- Promoting the creation of high-quality homes in well-designed places that reflect community priorities
- Enabling sustainable homes and places
Homes England chair Peter Freeman says: “Over the next five years, we will continue to work with housebuilders of all shapes and sizes to boost housing supply.
“But we will also focus on the places those homes sit in, working ever more closely with local leaders and other partners to build communities as well as housing, be it through housing-led, mixed-use regeneration or new settlements.”
Homes England chief executive Peter Denton, adds: “The 2023-2028 strategic plan is a signal of intent, to maintain a rigorous focus on increasing housing supply, while working with partners to support the creation, regeneration and continued wellbeing of communities right across England.”
The agency says since 2018 it has helped to build 152,700 new houses, of which 115,211 of these were affordable homes.
In that time, it has also unlocked enough land to build over 380,000 homes, and helped over 228,996 households buy their own property.
Minister for Housing Rachel Maclean says: “Creating high-quality and sustainable homes that people can be proud of is an absolute priority for this government.
“We continue to work with partners and developers to facilitate a brownfield-first approach to meet local housing needs for local people.”
However, the government has come under fire for relaxing its target to build 300,000 homes a year after pressure from Conservative backbenchers.