Communities across the North East of England are being boosted by a new Strategic Place Partnership that has been agreed between North East Combined Authority and Homes England.
This partnership will see teams from the combined authority and the government’s housing agency working together to ensure that the region’s housing ambitions can be met, with this seeing long-term work being done to unlock locally-led plans for new homes across the region. Part of this partnership will also use the expertise and resources of Homes England relating to land, legal powers, and funding.
There was already some partnership work ongoing between the combined authority, local authorities in the North East, and Homes England, however, this collaboration will deepen that relationship. North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said:
“Everyone in the North East deserves a place they are proud to call home, and that is why I have made housing a key plank of my plans as Mayor. Indeed, this announcement follows closely from the news we have invested £4.5m to support the regeneration of Horden in East Durham5.
“Signing the Strategic Place Partnership with Homes England will allow us to take some of our biggest brownfield sites and turn them from eyesores into the homes and communities people need.
“It’s an opportunity to turbocharge development across the region by working with the Agency and our local authorities to create new homes that are affordable, energy efficient, and where people can thrive.”
Similar partnerships are already in place in other combined authorities around the country, including South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, the West Midlands, and Greater Manchester.
Peter Denton, Chief Executive of Homes England, also commented:
“A strategic place partnership isn’t a ceremonial bit of paper. It signals a long-term commitment where regional and national teams work together for the benefit of communities, to achieve the visions of local leaders who understand what people local to the area want and need to thrive.
“My colleagues and I are excited to deepen our ties with the combined authority to help accelerate progress. We are united by a passion to get things done in the right way, in the right places, to help ensure successful, sustainable regeneration and more affordable, quality homes for thousands of people in the North East.”
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