“Exciting”…”absolutely refreshing”…”laudable” – these were some of the terms senior housing figures used to describe Homes England’s new regeneration plans.
Speaking at Housing 2023, the Chartered Institute of Housing’s (CIH) annual housing festival in Manchester, James Prestwich, the CIH’s director of Policy and External Affairs, said the announcement was “something everyone in this room has been calling for for a long time”, adding that the ambition within the new plans was “really laudable”.
Kate Henderson, the CEO of the National Housing Federation, highlighted how, “over the past decade, we haven’t been talking about it [regeneration] in such a positive way,” adding that “we haven’t had regeneration funding for a decade”.
The discussion took place a day following the announcement of the plans, which will see grant funding provided through the government’s Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 used to fund replacement homes, alongside new affordable homes, as part of wider estate regeneration plans.
Homes England says the change will allow it to better support partners to replace outdated and unfit-for-purpose housing with a “larger number of high-quality, energy-efficient new affordable homes”.
The change to the Affordable Homes Programme (2021-26) has been agreed with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities, and is part of the agency’s wider efforts to help bolster the affordable housing sector and maintain housing supply.
It also reflects the agency’s five-year strategic plan, published in May, which clarifies its mandate to drive regeneration and housing delivery “to create high-quality homes and thriving places across England”.
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Peter Denton, the CEO of Homes England, sat on the Housing 2023 panel.
He said the agency’s plans were “deliberately flexible”, adding that this new approach “is mixing history over 40, 50 years, which is about housebuilding and regeneration”.
He also said that the process of working on the new plans with the Treasury was “impeccable”, adding that the government “has listened”.
“My faith in government has really been boosted in the last few months,” he said.
The changes have already come into effect, with funding decisions due to be made on a regular basis up till the end of March 2025, “subject to availability of funding.”
Homes England said it is “keen” to see proposals that can deliver at pace, maximise the number of new affordable homes, and enhance wider efforts to level up and regenerate communities.
Image: Senior housing figures, including Homes England CEO Peter Denton and NHF CEO Kate Henderson, at Housing 2023. Credit: Housing Digital
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