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Councils should be given five-year pots of funding by central government in new deals to build homes under Labour, the local government body has said.
The Local Government Association, who represent 317 councils in England, are calling on the government to scrap the current system, which sees councils apply to various specific funds, and give regions more freedom to kick-start building projects.
Analysis for the LGA, and shared with The Independent, estimates that new local housing deals could deliver almost 200,000 social homes over the next 30 years even if funding is not increased.
The LGA want money provided for the Housing Infrastructure fund, the Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land fund and the Affordable Homes programme among others to be consolidated into one pot. This single pot of money would then be dished out to councils in five-year deals.
The call comes ahead of an announcement from deputy prime minister Angela Rayner on Tuesday which is expected to overhaul planning rules to get Britain building.
Five-year deals would give house builders more certainty and would save on the administrative costs of grant applications, the LGA argued. Researchers interviewed council workers who said that longer periods of funding would allow them to deliver more homes at a lower cost per unit.
The current system is highly competitive as councils apply for different pots of money and the various funds cannot be combined, the LGA said.
Interviewees said that their local authorities were spending between £30,000 and £100,000 on consultancy support per bid, with multiple bids submitted per year. By reducing the number of applications councils have to do for funding, this money can be redirected to actual house building, the report suggested.
The report, titled ‘Building a better future’, assesses that even if the overall funding for councils is not increased the efficiencies would deliver nearly 200,000 additional social homes built over the next 30 years.
Cllr Claire Holland, housing spokesperson for the LGA, said: “Over the last 30 years, growth in the housing stock has stagnated and the number of housing completions is failing to keep up with demand. The only way to solve this country’s housing crisis is by giving councils the powers and resources to build more of the genuinely affordable homes our communities desperately need.
“Five-year local housing deals are crucial to give local areas the powers to build more affordable, good quality homes at scale, quickly, where they are needed.”
The research comes ahead of an expected overhaul of planning rules this week by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner. Labour aims to build 1.5 million homes in the next five years and Ms Rayner has said that delivering affordable homes is her “number one priority”.
The overhaul will also bring back mandatory housing targets for councils. Labour also plans to change nutrient-neutrality rules to enable developers to start building housing that risks polluting surrounding areas. Mitigations would have to be put in place by the time people move into the new homes, such as funding new wetlands nearby.
Ms Rayner will unveil the new National Planning Policy Framework to MPs on Tuesday.
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We will get Britain building again and deliver the biggest increase in social housing and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
“This government will work with in partnership with councils so that together we can build the homes this country desperately needs.”
