Local Enterprise Partnerships, housing, planning and infrastructure

Proposition

Local Enterprise Partnerships [LEPs] are developing in a variety of ways. There will be differences across the country. All will need to develop a clear understanding of the relationship between economic prosperity and housing, the quality of the residential environment, and the infrastructure needed for a good quality of life. Key issues include:

  • The impact of a limited range or poor quality of housing on the attractiveness of a place
  • The affordability of housing relative to salaries of average and lower paid jobs
  • The quality of housing to attract people from particular sections of the workforce
  • The impact of possible interventions, such as improving private rented housing

Key Points

The Local Growth White Paper sets out how government sees LEPs working to promote enterprise and inward investment in the areas they cover. It talks about a more strategic role for housing and planning at the LEP level, in order to maximise the UK's house building supply response to contribute to a wider economic recovery, and to integrate housing and planning with transport and wider infrastructure. It also references the Neighbourhood Planning level and the incentives for communities to build, provided through the New Homes Bonus – which will be received in very different ways in different communities.

What has not yet been resolved is how to reconcile the different aspirations of employers, communities and workers, so that communities’ own visions for themselves fit with a higher level strategic economic plan shared by several local authorities. Without a framework for achieving this, there is a strong possibility that homes are developed in the wrong places, not necessarily matching economic growth ambitions.

Congruence between the two is possible. The Northern Way work on Residential Futures is the most significant work to date on this issue, [See Case Study below]. However, it takes time to resolve issues and gain buy-in. It must not, therefore, be seen as a speedier route to housing delivering than the current system. It also requires a more sophisticated appreciation and understanding of the relationship between housing, the residential environment, infrastructure and economic development, not one limited to housing growth as a proxy for economic growth. Other areas for consideration include:

  • having a limited range of housing and/or poor quality on impacts negatively on the attractiveness of an area and therefore reduces the likelihood that employees will move to the area,
  • unavailability of housing that is affordable reduces the ability of lower paid employees to live in a place,
  • how to develop the housing offer – and wider residential and place offer – over time, to attract the right people who are currently missing from the workforce in a locality, and
  • the impact of a range of housing interventions on the make-up of a place, including for example interventions to improve the way the private rented sector operates

Another issue for resolution is the implications of new Welfare Reform (Housing Benefit) plans and of new measures in the Localism Bill, particularly those on Affordable Rent, flexible (fixed term) tenancies, and homelessness, on the economic prospects of communities. These are intended to support the connection of people to jobs, but this is likely to be, at best, partially effective and will have negative impacts in some areas.

A great deal of knowledge of these matters resides with employees and archived publications of the Regional Development Agencies, Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders and Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. Various pieces of work undertaken by them have identified some cause-and-effect patterns.

Case Study

Northern Way Residential Futures

The Northern Way Residential Futures report on the Tees Valley sub-region, in March 2009, aimed to identify the contribution that housing could play in supporting economic development. [http://www.thenorthernway.co.uk/document.asp?id=470 and http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110118095356/http:/www.cabe.org.uk/strud/examples/residential-futures]

The quality of the residential offer is insufficient to satisfy demand, resulting in outward migration and constraints on growth. It identified the following key challenges for the Tees Valley housing market:

  • Enhancing liveability and urban competitiveness.
  • Linking communities and economic opportunities.
  • Meeting a variety of local economic objectives.
  • Working towards a balanced whole market.
  • Making the most of the existing stock
  • Addressing substantial gaps in the residential offer at both ends of the housing market:
    • limited variety of stock in inner urban areas, and
    • shortage of good quality locations for the higher end of the market

Key messages

National Politicians

Economic growth needs to be supported by a range of actions relating to housing that require some investment, not just new housing supply. The national policy framework needs to create the conditions, and incentives, for local authorities and LEPs to take whatever action is required to achieve the outcomes they desire.

Local Politicians

To achieve and economic ambition, politicians need to think about:

  • Who will live in a place in 20 years time
  • Attracting, retaining, developing, empowering people who will make this the place it wants to become
  • The sort of housing people expect at different times of their lives
  • Policies, investment, interventions that will take steps to achieve these ambitions

Local people

Demand positive action on housing that is specific in nature and that will help you to achieve the broader, long-term objectives for your city, town, neighbourhood, and village,especially its economic ambitions.

HCA

Continue to promote Local Investment Planning as a means of challenge to local authrptoes, helping them to develop a positive strategy for housing investment in line with a local vision.

Continue to use funding powers to back this up.

Contribute to debates and discussions in the short to medium term to improve the quality of the debate.

Landowners

Appreciate the bigger picture and consider when you sell your land, who to and at what price, in order to achieve positive change in a place

Housing Commissioners and Planners

Support the neighbourhood planning process.

Provide information on how different types of housing investment approaches might help to achieve the vision.

Encourage local authorities to reinvest a portion of the New Homes Bonus they receive for new homes into other funding streams.

Signposts

  • Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders eg. MSP, TSY
  • Other regeneration schemes eg. Greenwich
  • Core Cities work on housing and the economy
  • CIH work on housing and the economy
  • Cambridgeshire Quality Charter for Growth