West Yorkshire Mayor’s £89 million investment will help unlock 5,400 new homes
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A multi-million pound programme is supporting the delivery of
thousands of new homes across West Yorkshire, it was confirmed
today (26 November). Speaking at the largest annual gathering of
Northern social housing leaders in Leeds, regional Mayor Tracy
Brabin pledged almost £90 million by March next year to help unlock
over 5,400 new homes. The funding is being distributed to housing
providers working across 28 sites in Bradford, Calderdale,
Kirklees, Leeds, and...Request free
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A multi-million pound programme is supporting the delivery of thousands of new homes across West Yorkshire, it was confirmed today (26 November). Speaking at the largest annual gathering of Northern social housing leaders in Leeds, regional Mayor Tracy Brabin pledged almost £90 million by March next year to help unlock over 5,400 new homes. The funding is being distributed to housing providers working across 28 sites in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, and Wakefield. Work is already in progress or completed on 16 projects, with work on the remaining 12 due to start before March 2025. The developments on previously developed, disused “brownfield” land include:
In her keynote address at the Northern Housing Consortium's (NHC) summit, Mayor Brabin warned that the funding was a “sticking plaster” over the region's housing crisis, with over 80,000 households on waiting lists for a council home, and over 1,500 households living in unsuitable temporary accommodation. However, she struck an optimistic tone, pointing to a landmark partnership with Homes England to boost the delivery of 38,000 homes on brownfield land, and the Deputy Prime Minister's pledge to build 1.5 million new homes, including the biggest increase in social and affordable housing for a generation. Speaking at the NHC Northern Housing Summit, Mayor Tracy Brabin said: “This is personal for me. Growing up in a safe and secure council flat was the foundation on which my life was built, and I want every child in West Yorkshire to have that start in life. “It's unacceptable that we have hundreds of children in temporary accommodation, doing their homework on the bathroom floors of hotel rooms, because working families have been priced out of having a roof over their head. “We're turning the tide with almost £90 million to build 5,400 new homes on brownfield land, but we could unlock 38,000 more with the right freedoms and flexibilities from the government. “Working together with our dedicated housing partners and the Deputy Prime Minister, we'll build a greener, more secure region with thousands more affordable and sustainable homes.” Under the previous government, each new brownfield housing development had to demonstrate financial benefits that outweighed the cost, making it difficult for regional leaders to back new housing projects in areas where the land values are relatively low. Tweaking this “cost benefit rule” to look at the overall financial benefit of multiple sites, instead of each site on its own, would allow for more housebuilding opportunities across the whole of West Yorkshire, not just in certain areas of high land value. The new Government has pledged to “Get Britain Building” by reforming the national planning system and giving greater flexibilities to local areas, with West Yorkshire leaders hoping to build an additional 38,000 new homes on brownfield land, for which planning permission has already been secured. Cllr Denise Jeffery, Leader of Wakefield Council and Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Place, Regeneration and Housing Committee, said: “Thousands more families are living in safe, secure, and affordable homes because of the decisions of our West Yorkshire Mayor in partnership with local Councils. We've really made the most of the powers and funding devolved to our region so far. “But now we need to accelerate this work even more. For too long, strict Government rules over where our brownfield housing fund is spent have blocked our plans. This has limited too much of what we've been able to achieve to places where land values are already high. “With the backing of a new Government, and the promise of greater flexibility in how we can make decisions, we can build 38,000 new homes. That is at the heart of delivering a region which everyone can be proud to call home.” Earlier this year, West Yorkshire's first ever regional housing strategy was launched by Mayor Tracy Brabin and Cllr Denise Jeffery, with four pillars to guide housebuilding efforts in the region:
As part of the strategy, homeowners in the region are able to access low interest loans through the Home Energy West Yorkshire initiative, to invest in home improvements that lead to savings over the long-term, such as double-glazed windows, cavity wall insulation, solar panels and heat pumps. Mayor Brabin's ambition for the initiative is a “one stop shop” providing energy and money saving advice to all homeowners and renters in West Yorkshire, alongside a programme to retrofit all council and social homes in the region, to reduce energy bills and put more money in people's pockets. The NHC's Northern Housing Summit is the largest annual gathering of Northern social housing leaders, with discussions on how to achieve transformative change for and with communities through action on devolution, net zero, regeneration, housing quality and supply. Tracy Harrison, Chief Executive of the Northern Housing Consortium said: “We were pleased to welcome the Mayor to our conference, and her commitment to addressing the housing crisis was clear. We stand with her on the role that development of brownfield land can play in making sure everyone has a good quality home they can afford. “We worked with combined authorities in the North, including West Yorkshire, on our Brownfield First report and found there is the potential to unlock 320,000 homes in the North through a ten-year, £4.2bn programme to remediate all of the North's brownfield land. “At the conference, we shared new research which showed housing costs are pushing 3.2 million people into poverty in the North, so the sooner West Yorkshire is able to unlock those 38,000 extra homes on brownfield land, the better.” Notes to editors More detail about the 5,400 new homes can be found here. About the Northern Housing Consortium Summit: The Northern Housing Consortium represents the views of housing organisations in the North of England. The 2024 Northern Housing Summit in Leeds explored how the sector can work alongside the new government to deliver what's needed, and how increased devolution can bring new opportunities to make a difference to communities across the North. Read about the NHC here. About the West Yorkshire Housing Strategy: The West Yorkshire Housing Strategy 2040 identifies untapped potential for new housing across Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, and Wakefield, where over 38,000 new homes could be built on previously developed land. The strategy aims to build on the progress made since the devolution of the £89 million Brownfield Housing Fund to the region. Read more about the strategy here. About Home Energy West Yorkshire: The Mayor's Home Energy West Yorkshire service offers energy efficiency advice to homeowners, alongside low-interest loans to invest in home improvements. Residents will receive help to make cost-effective choices, reduce their carbon footprint, and make their home more comfortable. Read more about it here. |