The Combined Authority has unanimously agreed to accept an additional £17.8 million in government funding to support the development of housing on brownfield land across the region.
The financial boost, provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, represents the third tranche of the Brownfield Housing Fund programme.
Authority has been delegated to the Director of Economy, in consultation with the Mayor, to deliver the funding in line with the current scheme.
The latest allocation follows two previous funding tranches of £12.7 million and £7.3 million, which were supported by additional money to enable over-delivery across the region.
The new funding represents an extension of the existing programme and introduces two key changes. The delivery timeframe has been extended by a further four years, and the intervention rate has more than doubled, increasing from approximately £14,000 to £30,000 per home.
It was noted that the higher intervention rate reflects increased construction costs, particularly in rural areas, and follows discussions led by the Combined Authority.
Andrew Leeming, the Head of Strategy, introduced the report to the authority and outlined the progress made so far.
"Currently we've got 24 projects that are all contracted, ready for delivery and delivering 1,385 new homes, of which many, as it sets out in the report, are affordable. In terms of the new funding, this is really an extension of the current brownfield housing fund. The scheme, with the additions really that there's a higher intervention rate, the original intervention rates were around £14,000 per home. It's raised to £30,000 per home and I think that's partly to do with some of the pushing that we've made as a combined authority to address some of the issues, particularly around rural housing, which costs more, but also an additional time frame of four years for delivery."
Mayor David Skaith welcomed the additional £17.8 million and thanked officers for their work, reiterating the importance of the investment in supporting the region's housing ambitions:
"Since the creation of the Combined Authority all Brownfield Housing Fund investment has been directed towards affordable and social housing. The increased intervention rate will address viability challenges, enabling the delivery of affordable homes, particularly in higher-cost and rural locations."
During the meeting, it was suggested that future discussions with the government could explore additional priorities for the local area.
These priorities include addressing wider viability issues, considering the inclusion of privately owned sites, and exploring mixed-tenure schemes where appropriate.
The authority noted that greater flexibility under devolution could enable future funding to be shaped to better reflect local priorities, while the newly increased intervention rate will help to unlock challenging sites across the area.
The portfolio holder for housing, Councillor Carl Les OBE, suggested there should be a conversation to be had with the government about future priorities:
"I think we should be looking at other issues that affect viability of projects. I think we should be looking at whether there's a role for privately-owned sites to be brought into the mix and also within that mix whether there should be mixed tenure. You know, it shouldn't just be affordable, you may actually need to have some houses for sale which then help to sweeten a deal to actually get more deals across the table and if those are our local priorities, we should be saying that to government and hopefully, with this new spirit of devolution, they should be allowing us to actually develop those ideas going forward. But, very happy to endorse the proposal as it is today."
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