Last week at the LGA Annual Conference, the Deputy Prime Minister
announced the launch of the new Council Housebuilding Support
Service (CHoSS), a fully funded initiative to boost council-led
housebuilding across England.
Funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government (MHCLG), the programme will provide tailored capacity
and capability support to help councils establish, enhance, or
accelerate their delivery of high-quality, affordable council
homes.
Following a shortlisting process, a vanguard of 10 councils has
been selected to co-design the programme, where those councils
identified local challenges that could be unlocked with national
support:
With Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs):
- Cornwall Council
- Eastbourne Borough Council
- Newcastle City Council
- Salford City Council
- Southampton City Council
Without HRAs:
- London Borough of Merton
- Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
- Rother District Council
- Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
- Wirral Council
Whilst co-designing the programme, each of these councils will
receive some bespoke support shaped around their specific needs,
including access to expert advice, practical tools, peer
learning, and strategic input.
Following this early phase with the vanguard, the full support
offer will soon become available to all councils across England.
Councils are encouraged to visit the CHoSS webpage and register
their interest in the programme.
Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the LGA, said:
“This new programme comes at a critical time for local
government. Councils want to do more to deliver the council
houses their communities need, and this initiative will give them
the tools, advice and support to do just that.
“The CHoSS programme is a positive step forward in unlocking the
potential of councils to drive local housing delivery at scale,
and we are pleased to be working with government on this shared
ambition.
“The CHoSS team will work closely with participating authorities
over the summer to refine and test the self-assessment tool and
co-produce a scalable model for broader rollout later in the
year.”
Notes to Editors
For further information, councils can visit: Council Housebuilding Support
Service | Local Government Association
