English Cities Fund partnership between Homes England, Legal & General and Morgan Sindall-owned regeneration business Muse Developments will continue until 2036. 

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Liverpool: The English Cities Fund has worked on schemes in the city. Source: Jason Hawke

The government’s housing and regeneration agency Homes England has today announced its £200m partnership with Legal & General and Morgan Sindall’s regeneration business Muse Developments will run until December 2036. 

By regenerating urban areas the joint venture English Cities Fund (ECF) will deliver a further 6,600 new homes as well as 2m sq ft of innovation and commercial space. 

Housing minister Stuart Andrew said: “Regenerating urban areas and transforming brownfield sites into thriving communities is integral to levelling up the country.”

Sir Michael Lyons, chair of ECF, said: “Our towns and cities are the engine rooms of our economy. By bringing together the investment and regeneration skills of Homes England, Legal & General and Muse Developments, we are uniquely equipped to help in reshaping and strengthening local economies.”

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Of the 6,600 homes, 4,000 will be delivered by two schemes. One is a £2.5bn, 240-acre project in Salford Crescent, being done in partnership with Salford City Council and the University of Salford, that will bring forward more than 3,000 homes. The other will create 1,000 homes through the borough-wide regeneration of St Helens in Merseyside, being done in conjunction with St Helens Borough Council. The council’s cabinet signed off the masterplan development frameworks for this latter scheme last month, and a planning application will be submitted later this year. 

The ECF,set up in 2001. works with councils, landowners, and key community stakeholders and has so far started 2,270 homes and completed 1,801, It expects to start a further 1,800 homes by 2026. 

The joint vehicle has worked on schemes in Salford Central, Liverpool, Canning Town, Wakefield and Plymouth. 

Homes England said it had acted as a “catalyst” for further investment in these areas, shown by, for example, the 18,000 homes that are currently being built in Salford and around the Manchester regions. 

Muse Developments, owned by construction giant Morgan Sindall, made a profit of £12.1m in the 2021 calendar year from turnover of £203m. It has an order book worth £2.6bn.