Local Authority Direct Delivery of Housing Third Round of Research 2021 Desk Survey Report
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Local authority direct delivery of housing Third Round of Research 2021 Desk Survey Report Janice Morphet and Ben Clifford Bartlett School of Planning, UCL May 2021 Janice Morphet and Ben Clifford would like to thank those who have donated funding and time to support this research: • Airey Miller https://www.aireymiller.com/ • HTA Design https://www.hta.co.uk/ • National Planning Forum https://www.natplanforum.org.uk/ • Planning Officers Society https://www.planningofficers.org.uk/ • Sheridan Development Management Ltd https://sheridandevelopment.co.uk/ • RedLoft https://www.redloft.co.uk/ • RTPI https://www.rtpi.org.uk/new-from-the-rtpi/ • Savills https://www.savills.co.uk/people/savills-margaret-street/steve-partridge.aspx • 3Fox International https://www.3fox.co.uk/ We would also like to thank the Advisory Board for their support and contribution to the research: • Jo Allchurch, LGA • Richard Blyth, RTPI • Sarah Davis, CIH • Mike De’Ath, HTA Design • Mike Hayes, Mike Hayes Associates • Mike Kiely, POS • Ken Lee, CIPFA • Gilian MacInnes, Gilian MacInnes Associates • Tony Mulhall, RICS • Andrew Piatt, Gateleys 1 Local authority direct delivery of housing Round 3 research Desk survey 2021 Report Executive Summary This report is the first part of the 2021 research on local authorities’ direct provision of housing. It has used the same methodology as in 2017 and 2019.1 In this desk survey research, we have found that the number of local authorities with companies which could support the provision of housing has increased from 78% to 83% in 2019 and 59% in 2017. 72% of councils have a JV in comparison with 57% in 2019 (no assessment was made in 2017). This survey shows that 80% of local authorities have indicated a need to provide affordable housing in their Corporate Strategies, an issue which the forthcoming final report will show has been exacerbated in the pandemic. The report demonstrates some of the differences in provision between London and the rest of England. Finally, the report illustrates, through its tables, the range of mechanism and means being used by local authorities to deliver housing to meet local needs in their areas including the HRA, companies, JVs, partnerships, regeneration and community land trusts. This research will be further discussed as part of the report on the rest of the 2021 research which includes a direct survey, round tables and case studies. 1 https://www.rtpi.org.uk/research/2017/june/local-authority-direct-provision-of-housing-i/ and https://www.rtpi.org.uk/research/2019/july/local-authority-direct- delivery-of-housing-ii-continuation-research/ 2 Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Methodology 4 Findings 5 Companies 5 Joint ventures 6 Affordable housing 7 Regeneration 8 Councils using modern methods of construction 9 Councils providing student housing or working with universities 9 Councils developing their own operational estate including civic centres 9 Councils working with other public sector landowners 10 Councils using passivhaus or similar environmental standards 10 Numbers of homes being delivered through council engagement 10 Differences in the public funding of delivery of social and affordable homes in London and the rest of England 11 Direct delivery of housing in London 12 Delivery in Mayoral Combined Authorities 13 Delivery in CAMCOX 16 Conclusions 17 Appendices 18 Local authorities that mentioned MMC and modular 18 Local authorities developing student housing 19 Local authorities developing civic buildings and car parks 20 Local authorities working with other public sector landowners 21 Local authorities using passivahaus or higher environmental standards 22 The Desk Survey 3 Introduction This desk survey is part of the third round of research that has been undertaken into the ways in which councils are directly engaging in the delivery of housing. Each round of research – in 2017, 2019 and 2021 – has been undertaken using the same methodology although in each round specific questions have been examined. In 2021, we have investigated a range of additional issues in the desk survey including the name of local authority companies, specific JV and partners and the numbers of homes being built where this information is online. The details of housing numbers have not been aggregated for each council as some are targets so should be seen more as a mosaic that is helping to compile a more complete picture although may gaps remain. We have also reviewed all council corporate plans and strategies for mentions of any priority for affordable housing and also reviewed where councils are working with community land trusts. The information that has been found for each council is listed on the table below. Before this there is some analysis of specific issues that emerged through this survey and, in the appendices, we have included lists of these councils engaged in specific types of initiatives discussed below. As this is a survey based on web sources alone, then inevitably, some information about council activity will not be in the table and some may have been overtaken by events. The web links can be accessed in the table to support what has been identified. Overall, the information has been very difficult to find and sometimes has required multiple searches. One conclusion of this desk survey is that councils are not identifying their levels and outcomes of housing delivery activity in one place. The information about the HRA, housing companies and RP partnerships is more difficult to find than the numbers of homes being provided though JVs on the whole. There is also a major gap between the discussion and information provided by councils on their delivery through housing and planning departments and that provided through regeneration, even where the council is contributing land and finance in addition to masterplanning and advocacy. Methodology The methodology used to undertake this desk survey has been the same as in 2017 and 2019. Each council was searched using the same terms on Google. In 2021, the desk research was undertaken between January and April and new search terms were added to those undertaken before which were primarily concerned with whether the council had a company or a joint venture. In 2021, each council was also searched for the following: • Whether the council’s corporate plan or strategy included their need to provide affordable housing – those councils that did mention the need for affordable housing have the link to this strategy included here. Those not mentioned either did not have any mention of affordable housing in their corporate strategy or plan or did not have one; • The Council HRA business plan or equivalent where the council has an HRA; 4 • Where the council has a company or a JV, the name of the company and/or the JV partners have been identified and included as far as possible; • The Council regeneration programmes that include housing – here the council may have a JV, some land ownership, or using advocacy to seek funding from government or its agencies for delivery; • The number of homes that the council appeared to be directly involved in delivering through their HRA, company, a JV, partnerships with RPs, their own RP or regeneration programmes. These are shown as separate figures and not aggregated in the table; there has been an effort to avoid double counting as far as possible; the source of these figures will be in the weblinks provided; they should be regarded as a mosaic; • The Council’s investment strategy; • The Council’s commercialisation strategy; and • Whether the council works with a community land trust The information found and included on the table is the result of the best efforts exercised in the process. It must be noted that the information is generally hard to find and piece together. Where there are opportunities to bring together the council’s approach to housing delivery, for example in the corporate plan, housing strategy or delivery plan, these omit much of the housing activity that councils are engaged upon. It is easy to find HRA new build budgets but not the associated capital programmes in many cases. Where councils have engaged in delivery with partners – JVs or RPs, councils do not appear to be ‘claiming’ this delivery although it is due to its direct investment in time, land, funding or advocacy. Findings In this section the findings are summarised under a range of issues. In the forthcoming final report for our research in 2021, these will be set within the wider findings of the changes in housing policy and practice since 2019 and the other parts of the research including the direct survey, the round tables and the case studies. Companies In comparison with 2017 and 2019, the number of councils with companies has increased from 58% in 2017, 78% in 2019 to 83% in 2021. Within these figures, there is an amount of churn with council companies, opening, closing and re-opening. With the exception of a few cases such as Merton, there is not always 5 much detail of why these companies have been closed. Where councils are not engaging in much delivery, there is no discussion as to why this is the case and these councils frequently rely on planning mechanisms for delivery of all types of housing including affordable of various types. Some councils have strong relationship with RPs, providing a development budget or specific partnership arrangements. This increase in the number of council companies may relate to the increasing use of JVs to deliver housing and this has increased from 57% in 2019 to 72% in 2021 (the figures were not collected in 2017). Some councils have multiple JV arrangements for housing delivery, and these appear to be focused on specific sites or locations. In the past, more JVs appear to have been established with a more general agreement to find development opportunities jointly, but the JV focus has narrowed in these cases to a specific number of identified sites.