Rotheram outlines 64,000-home ambition for Liverpool City Region

The Liverpool City Region (LCR) Combined Authority has revealed plans to deliver more than 64,000 new homes in the coming years.

Work with the LCR’s local authorities and housing associations has identified more than 300 sites on which 64,044 homes could be built, including 31,000 in Liverpool alone.

The LCR Housing Pipeline plan identifies proposals to accelerate housing delivery and regeneration. It follows a recent announcement of £700m for new social and affordable housing – the biggest single investment into housebuilding in the city region.

Meanwhile, the combined authority together with Homes England is already investing £1.3m to bring forward a programme of 310 priority sites across Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral, identified through a Strategic Place Partnership (SPP) with Homes England.

An estimated £1bn of public sector funding is needed to support 139 projects, while the full pipeline of 310 sites could require up to £2bn.

At a meeting on 23 January, the combined authority will be asked to approve the pipeline and endorse the creation of a housing investment fund.

These steps would enable work to proceed on preparing the sites for investment and delivery, coordinated with wider combined authority investments in transport infrastructure and economic development and support from Homes England for prioritised sites.

The combined authority will also be asked to endorse work to set up a mayoral development corporation (MDC). This would see a joint team of officers from LCR and Liverpool City Council developing a detailed business case for both the proposed designation of a mayoral development area covering the North Docks area of Liverpool and the establishment of an MDC to manage its regeneration.

While the MDC’s initial focus would be on the North Docks area, officers will look to develop a model that can be rolled out efficiently across other priority regeneration areas within the LCR.

Steve Rotheram, mayor of the LCR, said: “A decent home isn’t a privilege – it’s the foundation for everything else in life. Right now, too many families across our city region are being priced out or left waiting while good sites sit stalled and unused.

“This plan is about changing that. By using our powers, backing our local councils and working hand-in-hand with housing associations and Homes England, we can unlock difficult sites, get spades in the ground and build the homes our communities actually need.”