20.02.18
Metro mayors call on PM to review criteria for allocation of housing funding
Four metro mayors have written an open letter to the prime minister calling for more investment in brownfield sites in their cities.
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Street, mayor of West Midlands, Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool City Region, and Ben Houchen, Tees Valley mayor, have met today in Birmingham to discuss housing and have written to Theresa May to advise how they can build more homes.
The letter argues for more funding to support building on brownfield land across the regions, claiming that the cities are missing out on cash because it is cheaper and more profitable to develop green field land in the south.
In the letter, the mayors write: “Housing supply is a challenge for all of our regions, and as we see new jobs and growth in the years ahead, these pressures will only get worse.
“We need investment in infrastructure and public services to unlock housing developments, and investment to regenerate brownfield sites which have been unused for years.”
Last week the Campaign to Protect Rural England revealed that there is enough brownfield land across England to build over a million homes.
The mayors call on the government to review the way in which it allocates housing funding: “As the government invests in housing through the Housing Infrastructure Fund, Housing Deals, and Homes England investment, a new approach is needed.
“The way that government allocates housing funding relies heavily on land values, which puts our regions at a disadvantage.
“We should not lose out because our house prices are not as high as in London and the south east.”
Top image: Empato
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