Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency, has today launched its five-year Strategic Plan, outlining its commitment to deliver high-quality, affordable homes and regenerate towns and cities across England.
The plan, supported by over £16bn of government funding, is a rallying call to the housing and regeneration sector, aiming to create a revitalised built environment that serves all communities. It emphasises the importance of sustainability, decency, and good design, and promotes a tailored approach to address the unique challenges faced by different regions of England.
Chair of Homes England, Peter Freeman, shared the Agency’s belief in the transformative role of housing in improving lives. He said: “As an Agency, we firmly believe that affordable, quality homes in well-designed places are key to improving people’s lives. And our updated strategic plan has been designed to enable us to deliver against that.”
Freeman also highlighted the plan’s aim to deliver not only a greater quantity of homes but also a focus on the quality of the places they are built in, adding: “Over the next five years, we will continue to work with housebuilders of all shapes and sizes to boost housing supply. But we will also focus on the places those homes sit in, working ever more closely with local leaders and other partners to build communities as well as housing, be it through housing-led, mixed-use regeneration or new settlements.”
Five key objectives underpin the Agency’s mission: facilitating the creation of successful, vibrant places, meeting housing needs with the right type and tenure of homes, promoting diversity and innovation in the housing and regeneration sector, creating high-quality homes in well-designed places, and enabling sustainable homes and places with minimal environmental impact.
In implementing these objectives, Homes England will work closely with government and local leaders to build safety and overcome barriers that hinder delivery. The Agency’s successes since 2018 include supporting the creation of 152,700 new homes, unlocking land for over 380,000 homes, and assisting over 228,996 households in buying their own home.
Minister for Housing, Rachel Maclean, expressed the Government’s support for the Strategic Plan and its emphasis on creating sustainable, high-quality homes, saying: “Creating high-quality and sustainable homes that people can be proud of is an absolute priority for this Government. We continue to work with partners and developers to facilitate a brownfield-first approach to meet local housing needs for local people.”
Meanwhile, Peter Denton, chief executive of Homes England, reaffirmed the Agency’s commitment to the mission of accelerating housing supply, with an increasing focus on quality, decency, design, and sustainability, stating: “Our driving focus since 2018 has been on accelerating housing supply through a wide range of tools, interventions, and support. However, the quality, decency, design, and sustainability of what is built will increasingly take centre stage in our work with partners.”
The 2023-2028 strategic plan underlines Homes England’s determination to continue increasing housing supply while supporting the regeneration and wellbeing of communities across England.
Denton added: “We will deliver homes and places people are proud to live in for generations to come.”
