WHAT'S NEW?
The ‘housing crisis’ has become a widely recognised term over recent years. It is common knowledge that England has a chronic shortage of homes and currently fails to build enough homes to keep up with demand. In late 2018, Crisis and the National Housing Federation released research finding that 340,000 homes per year are needed across England, and at least 90,000 of these must be affordable. Current housebuilding rates show that in the last 12 months under half of this number has actually been built. Its clear to see the sheer scale of the challenge ahead, a huge step change is needed to boost house building to the level required. But pivotal to the success of a new major housebuilding programme is ensuring that the homes we do build are in the right places and are genuinely affordable.
Adopting a national target
Adopting a national target is central to focusing the minds of leaders and decision makers on delivery that meets demand. As Crisis and NHF point out, the Government’s current methodology for predicting future housing requirements suggests a lower number than the 340,000 new homes identified by this report. What’s more, the research highlights that government projections fail to take into account the backlog of 4million ‘concealed’ households already in housing need across England. Those projections also fail to account for anticipated economic growth, particularly in the North. A review of the method of calculating housing need is urgently needed if we are to address the true scale of the housing crisis.
How might this look for the North?
Based on current population trajectories and demand, the highest need identified by government is in London and the South East. The projections are also based on previous economic growth and these are drawn from a period of particularly sluggish growth in many Northern towns and cities.
The current figures don’t take into account the potential impact of economic growth across the North on the number of homes needed. If we are to truly challenge ourselves to re-balance the economy, we need to future proof the number of homes we build. We must build not for decline but for a prosperous North.
Building for growth
I’m delighted to be leading on research that Homes for the North has commissioned from CEBR, Quod and the University of Sheffield, to establish the long-term housing requirements needed to support economic growth in the North. The Northern Powerhouse has already shown that a transformation of the North’s economy will see a significant increase in jobs, connectivity and gross value added to both the Northern and the UK economy. Central to the success of the Northern Powerhouse is ensuring that homes are at the heart of Northern growth and that we are able to meet the needs of a more diverse and thriving population.
Homes for the North is an alliance wholly committed to playing our part in creating a Northern economy that’s fit for the future, our ambitious development plans speak for themselves. Our call is not to take away from other thriving economic areas, but to create a more balanced economy which sees all parts of the country grow and realise their full potential. Some places are clearly at breaking point, unable to meet current demand and this pressure can be relieved by investing in areas with potential to grow and flourish. To do this what we build and where we build it needs to be at the core of the Government’s economic strategy with a long-term vision to create a rebalanced economy where the entire country can thrive.
Bronwen Rapley
Chief Executive Onward Homes
