Northern Housing Consortium Reacts to 'Housing Bank' Policy

Hundreds of thousands of extra homes will be delivered due to a government-backed ‘housing bank’ that will unlock billions in private sector investment to turbocharge housebuilding.

The National Housing Bank, a subsidiary of Homes England, will be publicly owned and backed with £16 billion of financial capacity, on top of £6bn of existing finance to be allocated this Parliament, in order to accelerate housebuilding and leverage in £53 billion of additional private investment, creating jobs and delivering over 500,000 new homes.

The approach will see Homes England, the national housing and regeneration agency, able to issue government guarantees directly and have greater autonomy and flexibility to make the long-term investments that are needed to reform the housing market and deliver strong returns.

With long-term, flexible capital, the National Housing Bank will be able to act as a consistent partner to the private sector, bringing the stability and certainty that housing developers and investors need to make delivery happen. It will also support SMEs with new lending products and enable developers to unlock large, complex sites through infrastructure finance.

Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner: “This government is delivering reform and investing in Britain’s renewal through our Plan for Change. Our foot is firmly on the accelerator when it comes to making sure a generation is no longer locked out of homeownership – or ensuring children don’t have to grow up in unsuitable temporary accommodation, and instead have the safe and secure home they deserve.”

The Bank will deploy some of the £2.5 billion in low-interest loans announced at the Spending Review to support the building of social and affordable homes.

It builds on £39 billion investment announced at the Spending Review for a new 10-year Affordable Homes Programme, which is the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation, supporting our Plan for Change milestone to build 1.5 million homes.

This comes ahead of the government’s 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy to be published tomorrow. The strategy will set out a £725 billion plan to rebuild the UK over the coming decade, bringing together for the first time economic, social and housing infrastructure.

Northern Housing Consortium Executive Director (Policy & External Relations) Patrick Murray said: “The National Housing Bank is good news for the North. It should boost delivery of new homes, particularly on more complex sites, such as those on brownfield land.

We also welcome the allocation of £5 billion grant for Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to use alongside new financial products from the National Housing Bank.

“This will further support delivery of homes on sites which can transform communities but come with high upfront costs, such as demolition of derelict buildings or decontamination of land. Our research has identified that there is capacity for 320,000 new homes on brownfield land in the North, so unlocking these homes must be a priority.”

“We’ve consistently highlighted the importance of local solutions to meet local needs. We’re pleased the announcement includes plans for Homes England to work with Mayors and local leaders to develop integrated funding packages which address local housing and regeneration priorities.”