North and Midlands central to govt’s £39bn affordable homes drive
Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, and the North East are expected to invest £1.8bn, £1.7bn, and £1.1bn, respectively, as part of a programme to deliver 300,000 properties over the next 10 years.
Housing secretary Steve Reed has announced the allocations as part of a £39bn investment in the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
The SAHP’s core objective is to maximise supply, particularly of social rent homes, for which a build target of 180,000 homes has been set.
Figures for the total indicative level of spend for the regional authorities are broken down as follows.
- £1.8bn for Greater Manchester
- £700m for Liverpool City Region
- £1.1bn for the North East
- £700m for South Yorkshire
- £1bn for West Yorkshire
- £1.7bn for the West Midlands
These figures will guide providers on the expected scale of investment in each region up until 2036.
Homes England will be responsible for delivery outside of London, with bidding for the programme expected to open in February 2026.
Final spending will depend on the number and quality of bids approved by Homes England.
Bidders will have two routes: strategic partnerships, offering long-term multi-year funding agreements with larger providers, and continuous market engagement, a rolling, flexible route for providers to bid for funding on a scheme-by-scheme basis, assessed against deliverability, local need, and value for money.
The government states it has worked alongside the established mayoral strategic authorities to design the programme.
Steve Reed, housing secretary, said: “This investment will be life-changing for thousands of families.
“We’re putting our regional Mayors firmly behind the driving seat to build, with new cash to turn wastelands into homes and slash social housing waiting lists.
“Fire up those diggers and build, baby, build.”
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Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “For too long there’s been chronic underinvestment in social and affordable housing. That’s blighted thousands of West Midlands families who have been left struggling to pay expensive private sector rents or stuck in temporary accommodation that can often be poor quality.
“Helping these families into safe, warm homes that are genuinely affordable is the cornerstone of my Homes for Everyone priority. We’ve made a strong start, but the scale and ambition of this funding will help us go much further, faster.
“I look forward to continuing to work with Homes England so we can use this money to provide the homes local people need and change thousands more lives for the better.”
As part of the programme, £2.5bn of low-interest loans to support the delivery of new social and affordable housing is also to be granted.
The loans will be open to private registered providers, though the majority will be offered to London due to its acute challenges for PRPs.
