Experts call for Homes England to have bigger role

The role of Homes England should be expanded with new powers over surplus public sector land, according to a new collection of essays out today.

The collection entitled Building for renewal: Kickstarting the C19 housing recovery by think tank Localis examines how housing policy and the planning system could be used to build sustainable communities as well as supporting lives and engaging with society during the recovery.

The essays make a number of recommendations including an expanded role for Homes England as housing accelerator with new powers over surplus public sector land and support of spatial plan delivery.

It also for new forms of funding to inject new liquidity into the housing market – including the use of SIPPs for residential property investment, greater deployment of patient capital for social investment and pension fund investment.

The collection also calls on policy makers to reaching out to younger people and those from diverse background to contribute to planning for a green future.

‘Given the gravity of the situation we find ourselves in, housing’s fundamental social and economic role and transformative capacity to drive change and growth assumes even greater significance,’ said Localis chief executive, Jonathan Werran.

‘What was already a radical and exciting agenda for housing in the aftermath of last December’s general election result now becomes a pivotal ‘win or lose’ moment for national renewal.

‘This paper sets out some astute and creative thoughts from a broad range of individual experts and organisations as to how we might use the primacy of place to direct a return to housing growth,’ added Mr Werran.

‘Uniquely, by kickstarting housebuilding we can directly unlock recovery in ways that can not only overcome entrenched economic difficulties, but also renew our communities, helping society improve on what was before and genuinely build back better.’

Photo Credit – Jarmoluk (Pixabay)