Building much needed homes across the region is the aim of a new
collaboration launched yesterday (02/09/25) by the Mayor
of York and North Yorkshire, .
Mr Skaith was joined by Pat Ritchie CBE, Chair of Homes England,
the government's housing and regeneration agency, to officially
launch the Strategic Place Partnership, and chair its first
meeting, in York.
The partnership, which also includes City of York Council, North
Yorkshire Council and York and North Yorkshire Housing
Partnership, will aim to speed up homebuilding in coastal, urban
and rural areas.
Mr Skaith said: “Across York and North Yorkshire, we are in the
midst of a housing crisis, with some of the most expensive homes
in the UK. With over 10,000 households on housing waiting lists
in our region, we must act now.
"We need to build the right homes in the right places, ensuring
people in all our towns, cities and villages can stay and live in
our region.
"Bringing together Homes England, our councils and key
organisations through the York and North Yorkshire Strategic
Place Partnership will help us all deliver on our shared vision
to get building."
Pat Ritchie CBE, Chair of Homes England, said: “Our Strategic
Place Partnership with York and North Yorkshire Combined
Authority shows how Homes England supports local leaders and
partners in delivering place-based regeneration.
“In York, for example, we are already working with partners
including Network Rail, the City of York Council and the National
Railway Museum to drive forward the transformation of York
Central – one of the UK's largest brownfield sites – into new
homes, cultural spaces and infrastructure.
“Delivering 1.5 million homes this Parliament will take a
collective effort across the housing sector. Homes England's role
is to support locally-led projects like this, helping ensure new
neighbourhoods reflect long-term regeneration goals and the needs
of communities.”
The Partnership will seek to boost the number of homes available
for local people across York and North Yorkshire, with a priority
on affordable housing. The agreement, signed yesterday,
details how it would use three key objectives to unlock sites.
Plans include stronger working relationships with major site
owners such as the Ministry of Defence and Network Rail, while
also developing a collaborative action plan on delivering
affordable housing.
The partnership will also commit to speeding up delivery of
‘investment ready' sites, such as land already granted planning
permission, and stalled sites. It will also strive to ensure all
new homes are built using methods to support the region's goal of
achieving carbon negative by 2040.
The signing of the agreement with York and North Yorkshire means
Homes England now has nine Strategic Place Partnerships in place
with Mayoral and Combined Authorities across England.
