On 18th March 2015, the Chancellor George Osborne announced the 2015 Budget report which set out the government’s budget decisions and plans relating to spending and revenue. The budget revealed plans to introduce 20 new housing zones outside of London and has also pledged to continue to support 8 other shortlisted areas, which in total could provide 45,000 new homes1.
This announcement is double the original commitment of 10 pilot housing zones which was announced by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) in January 20152 and is on top of the further 20 housing zones due to be created in London under the oversight of the Greater London Authority. 11 of these London zones have already been confirmed in Barking, New Bermondsey, Tottenham, Heart of Harrow, Southall, Hounslow, Clapham Junction to Battersea, Wembley, Waltham Forest and 2 in Abbey Wood and Thamesmead. The remaining 9 zones are expected to be announced later in the year3.
What are Housing Zones?
Housing Zones are areas of brownfield land identified by local authorities as areas which could be utilised for housing within their districts. The local authority partners with a developer to build new homes and essential infrastructure, as well as schools, libraries and retail units to make the area a desirable place to live. The requirement to submit a planning application to the Local Planning Authority for the development scheme will be removed via Local Development Orders (LDOs) to allow for accelerated construction4.
It is expected that most of the successful zones will provide between 750 (the minimum requirement) and 2,000 new homes5. The proportion of affordable homes is to be decided at a local policy level according to local plans6.
How will they be funded?
Central government has set aside £200 million of recoverable investment funding for successful regional housing zones outside of London (there will be an additional £200 million of loan funding to successful London zones). The fund is intended for necessary infrastructure and required remedial works to make the sites suitable for residential use. Local authorities and their development partners will have to bid for a share of the £200 million investment pot, which will be allocated to the private sector partner.
Although the government has doubled the number of pilot schemes outside the London area since the fund was set up, there is no proposed increase to the £200 million cap7 and local authorities will likely have to take advantage of housing zone area access to cheaper loan rates from the Public Works Loan Board and priority access to the Local Development Order Capacity Fund8.
Where will the regional new Housing Zones be located?
The location of the new regional housing zone pilot areas are presented in the below map. The full list of sites can be found here.
A third of the total number of new dwellings are proposed in the south of England, with the remaining two thirds in Yorkshire, the Midlands, the North west and West, and a small percentage in the North East9.
The creation of housing zones has been generally well received by the industry as it promotes much needed housebuilding on brownfield land rather than the greenbelt. Melanie Leech, the chief executive of property lobby group the British Property Federation stated “Housing Zones are a welcome recognition that we can deliver significant amounts of desperately-needed housing on brownfield land”10. Local authorities have also welcomed the investment, as demonstrated by a spokesman for Bristol City Council who confirmed the principle of housing zones as “a welcome and much-needed investment in one of our priority areas”.11
One of the successful bids to provide 1,100 homes was submitted by the City of York Council last year in partnership with Network Rail. The site is confirmed as the York Central Housing Zone, the city’s largest brownfield site covering 35 hectares12. The council has already invested £10 million of the Economic Infrastructure Fund (EIF) to help start the development, and further financial support has already been allocated, including £27 million from the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund and £1.65 million for remediation works from the Leeds City Region Local Growth Fund. It is hoped that the status of the site as a housing zone will speed up the completion of the development, ‘delivering new jobs and homes much faster’13.
References
2 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/areas-shortlisted-to-become-englands-first-housing-zones
3 http://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1339054/budget-2015-regional-housing-zones-double
4 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/london-housing-zones-to-create-50000-new-homes
5 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/areas-shortlisted-to-become-englands-first-housing-zones
7 http://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1339054/budget-2015-regional-housing-zones-double
9 http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/osborne-announces-20-outside-london-housing-zones/7008847.article
10 http://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1339054/budget-2015-regional-housing-zones-double
12 https://bdaily.co.uk/environment/19-03-2015/york-brownfield-site-selected-among-first-housing-zones/
13 https://bdaily.co.uk/environment/19-03-2015/york-brownfield-site-selected-among-first-housing-zones/
