LCR eyes GM-style housing loans fund to beat £2bn viability crunch
A recyclable fund is one of the options the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is exploring to deliver a share of its 63,731-home, 300-scheme pipeline.
Liverpool City Region’s housing investment loans fund would sit alongside a Mayoral Development Corporation for the North of the city as part of a suite of interventions aimed at unlocking stalled sites and turbocharging housing delivery.
The type of fund and what mix of products would be on offer is still up for debate. As, indeed, is whether or not the LCRCA will go ahead with the fund at all; the issue will be discussed at a combined authority meeting next week.
It is understood that the fund would work in a similar fashion to Greater Manchester’s Housing Investment Loans Fund, which was established to provide finance to developers who could not get it elsewhere.
It has, not without controversy, led to the delivery of thousands of homes across Greater Manchester, including several skyscrapers developed by Renaker.
The combined authority in Liverpool recognises it has a mountain to climb if it is to deliver on its housing pipeline.
A report to the CA’s overview and scrutiny committee outlines the extent of the viability challenge, which it states is the “single largest barrier to delivery of new homes in urban areas of the city region”.
“It is likely that the total cost to the public sector to support the delivery of the potential 63,731 homes in the pipeline will be close to £2bn”, according to the report, highlighting the need for a housing investment fund.
The fund would be separate to the £700m government plans to give the city region to deliver affordable and social homes, which was announced last year.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “A decent home isn’t a privilege – it’s the foundation for everything else in life. Right now, too many families across our city region are being priced out or left waiting while good sites sit stalled and unused.
“This plan is about changing that. By using our powers, backing our local councils and working hand-in-hand with housing associations and Homes England, we can unlock difficult sites, get spades in the ground and build the homes our communities actually need.
“With the biggest investment in social and affordable housing our region has ever seen, we’re proving that when decisions are taken locally, we can move faster, attract investment and deliver real change – not just for today, but for the next generation too.”
Seems a no brainer? However, schemes will still need to get through planning, which unlike Manchester, is a major issue in the LCR!
By Anonymous
Good to see the Liverpool City Region trying to replicate a very successful approach in Greater Manchester – but it has to be said – 10 years too late.
By Anonymous
No shame in admitting Greater Manchester is far more successful than Liverpool so this should be welcomed. Liverpool has so much potential and we should welcome making the North West a powerhouse.
By Trevor
Now we have a Labour Government the penny has dropped for many in Liverpool. People know we are decades behind Manchester and the excuses are boring now. Steve Rotheram needs to get out of Burnhams shadow and fight for every bit of investment.
By FW83
All well and good but what quality of housing will they deliver, as not that long ago Mayor Rotheram said he wanted to see better designs in housing in the Liverpool Region. At the moment Liverpool seems happy to cover the city in bland, characterless semis, not good enough for a city that prides itself on heritage and uniqueness.
By Anonymous
Need a GM type transport system first. Trams not bendy buses Merseyrail extensions not more cycle lanes. No Vision.
By Anon
Liverpool City Council are already affecting developers ability to provide housing numbers in Liverpool due to their over the top demands that 20% of housing schemes is affordable, also the height restrictions imposed means developers can’t get required numbers onto a scheme in order to make it more viable.
Affordability should be the job of the Housing Associations not the private developers.
By Anonymous
Investment fund is a good idea for those sites that can bring a solid return, like Manchester have done. 300 schemes and at least 2 billion quid? This is why investors never take liverpool seriously
By Anonymous
Policy constraints (height limits, excessive affordable housing, etc) and a hostile planning committee are bigger barriers to development than a supposed lack of lending.
Why risk public money to subsidise private risk when the private sector won’t. Better to remove the policies and decision makers and let developers put their own money at risk.
By DenseCity
For god’s sake stop wanting to be like Manchester . Liverpool is a wonderful city in it’s own right. Millions of tourists are pouring into both cities, but I know if I’m in Liverpool because it feels and looks different from most UK cities , which apart from Edinburgh, are all the same .
By Anonymous
The issue is not the Labour government, like many commenters suggest. Manchester is thriving under Labour leadership – the issue is clearly local governance. Liverpool had been leaderless for too long. We desperately need a leader that will get the planning department into shape. It’s not about lowering quality or standards, it’s about delivering viable developments. Too many officers and councilors are stuck on idealism and it’s causing stasis.
By Anonymous
Liverpool is becoming more generic by the second unfortunately. The waterfront now looks like Salford Quays 2.0
By Sad but true
All cities are the same, Anon 9.11? Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Bristol are definitely not all the same. I don’t think anyone is saying Liverpool should be Manchester, just that it should have similar outlook and innovative approaches to making things happen.
By Anonymous
What a strange and deluded comment to think that Liverpool and Edinburgh are the only unique cities, never mind putting Liverpool in the same league as Edinburgh.
By Anonymous