Housing leaders from across West Yorkshire have come together to
accelerate plans for affordable housebuilding in the region.
At a gathering of some of the region's leading housing
developers, Mayor led the calls for
everyone involved in housebuilding to move “further and faster”
in building the thousands of new homes West Yorkshire needs.
The event, which took place this week (4 August), saw local
authorities, housing associations and private developers all
unite to boost the delivery of affordable housing across
Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield.
The roundtable came as West Yorkshire celebrates a major
milestone, having reached the highest level of
affordable housebuilding in over a decade. Between 2022 and 2023,
over 1,500 affordable homes were delivered in the region – the
highest number since the global financial crisis.
, Mayor of West Yorkshire,
said:
“Having a safe, warm and affordable place to call home is not a
nice to have – it's a basic human right.
“Yet with almost 100,000 households on council house waiting
lists and private rents soaring, too many families in West
Yorkshire are being deprived of the very foundation their lives
need to succeed.
“Thanks to devolution, we've been able to back bold, place-based
solutions, and we're seeing the results – with more affordable
homes delivered than at any time since the financial crash.
“But we need to go further and faster, uniting all of our housing
partners around a shared mission – building the affordable,
high-quality homes that local people need and deserve”.
In total, over 6,000 new homes have been unlocked across 29 sites
since May 2021, following the successful delivery of the £89
million Brownfield Housing Fund.
Despite this clear progress, West Yorkshire still faces acute
housing pressures, with average house prices now six times the
average wage, and two in five privately rented homes failing to
meet decent standards in some areas of the region.
In response, the West Yorkshire Housing Strategy 2040 sets out
ambitions to ramp up delivery to meet the Mayor's pledge of
building 5,000 affordable homes over the next three years. This
pledge is underpinned by deepening collaboration with Homes
England, and the backing of the UK Government's £39 billion
Affordable Homes Programme.
Mayor Brabin is clear that greater freedoms and flexibilities and
longer-term funding certainty are key to unlocking the region's
full housebuilding potential. The roundtable convened this week
builds on this momentum, exploring how public and private
partners can go further to deliver the affordable, sustainable
homes that local families need.
Notes to editors
The West Yorkshire Housing Developer Forum aims to bring together
industry leaders and innovators who are shaping the future of
housing development in West Yorkshire. Developers keen to know
more about the forum are encouraged to contact the Mayor's team
at mayoral.enquiries@westyorks-ca.gov.uk.
The West Yorkshire Housing Strategy 2040 can be read here.