CIH Brighton: Homes England ‘building up pipeline to push for funding programme post-election’

A Homes England official has said the agency is creating a pipeline of projects to demonstrate to the next government there is appetite from the sector for affordable homes funding.

Deborah Casey, head of affordable housing growth Midlands at Homes England, said: “We are building up a pipeline of regeneration schemes to show the next government that there is demand there and it’s healthy.”

Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Housing Brighton conference, Casey added: “We expect there will be another affordable homes programme [after 2026], as there always has been, but we will need to wait until after the general election to hear”.

In July, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) confirmed the department underspent by more than £600m on the affordable homes programme {AHP) in the year. DLUHC was forced to hand £255m back to the Treasury, with £363m being “re-profiled” for later years. A total of £1.9bn in funding for housing projects was returned overall. The department was reportedly unable to spend the money due providers battling rising interest rates and market uncertainty. Angela Rayner, shadow housing secretary, last October said a Labour government would make the affordable homes programme more flexible to prevent money being “stuck in the pipeline.”

On whether the next government can build 90,000 social rented homes per year as called for by a select committee of MPs this week, Casey said it’s not just about funding, but also registered providers’ financial positions, and their appetite for risk due to the current challenges in the sector and the planning system.

In particular, she said if planning applications are in the system for a year to two years before being approved, this poses challenges for delivery.

Ahead of the next election, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Homes England are reviewing what has gone well in the current programme. Casey notes that the shift towards social rent has been “well-received” and expects there to be a continued focus on it.

She noted that Homes England has made progress on rural housing, but delivering homes through modern methods of construction remains challenging.

>> See also: ‘Good, but not perfect’ – What next for Homes England?

>> See also: Home Truths podcast: In conversation with Peter Freeman at Homes England

A Cabinet Office review into Homes England published last month found that DLUHC should authorise the agency to “take more risk” in order to deliver more impact.

The review endorsed Homes England’s role as the key delivery agency for housing and regeneration, but it also encouraged the government to enable the agency to ”be even bolder” by allowing it to play the role of master developer on more large regeneration and placemaking schemes.

The Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 initially prioritised land-led development of new affordable homes. However, last June saw the introduction of flexibility in the Capital Funding Guide, enabling grant to be to fund replacement homes, as well as new affordable homes.