Greater Manchester’s newly devolved Mayor should will need far-reaching new powers, including control over the green belt, to prevent a London-style housing crisis occurring.
That’s the findings of a new report out today from the policy think tank IPPR North, Closer to Home which warns that the government will miss its target of building 1 million new homes by the end of the current parliament unless significant powers over housing and planning are handed to the new ‘metro mayors’ due to come into office in May under the devolution agenda.
It argues that England has not one housing market but many – and that Mayors are best placed to tackle housing issues, like the difficulty facing first time buyers getting a foot on the housing ladder, and a possible fall in private sector housebuilding as a result of Brexit.
Unless significant powers over planning and housing are handed to new Mayors, the government risks missing its housebuilding target – and a repeat of the London mayoralty, where successive mayors have lacked real powers to address major problems in the capital’s housing market.
The report states that that brownfield land is in too short supply to meet the government’s million homes target. It highlights figures from leading consultancy Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners, based on DCLG data, which show tha the North West has brownfield capacity for 166, 211 homes and a long-term need of 263, 168 new homes.
The report argues that government should go further and adopt a deal-making approach to housing devolution. It argues that the following powers should be devolved including control over the greenbelt, so mayors can potentially allow development on strategic parts of this – in consultation with local residents, handing Mayors stamp duty proceeds from new build homes as an incentive to increase supply and giving them the ability to put levies on empty homes.
But in return, mayors should themselves set out to government how they will meet a number of challenges – including releasing sufficient public land – and identifying private sites – to meet housebuilding targets, setting out plans to speed up the planning system for developers – for instance, by relaxing planning rules and showcasing how they will help small and medium businesses enter the market, for instance in breaking up larger developments into smaller chunks.
The findings follow the publication of an ambitious plan to establish homes, jobs and green space across the region over the next 20 years, along with identifying the new infrastructure such as transport links and utility networks which includes options to build on green belt sites at Pilsworth, Carrington, Cheadle Hulme and Ashton Moss.
Charlotte Snelling, report author and researcher at IPPR, said:
“England has not one housing market but several. The problems facing Kensington in London, and the problems in Kensington in Liverpool, are very different and best tackled locally.There is no doubt that successive London mayors been successful in using their significant levers on transport, but the powers given to Ken, Boris and Sadiq over housing even today are still too piecemeal and partial.
“The last thing we need is the new wave of Mayors facing a London-style housing crisis. Government should devolve powers and Mayors must set out exactly how they will help the government meet its housing targets.”
Ed Cox, director of IPPR North, added:
“The Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine will be driven by Mayors, and it’s vital they have the powers to build enough homes – recreating a London housing crisis in regional cities would be a disaster.”
“Brownfield land is limited, and it is best decided locally how to meet local housing needs. This includes difficult decisions about the greenbelt.If the government is serious about its One Nation credentials in expanding home ownership, it should remember radicals like the revolutionary Birmingham mayor Joseph Chamberlain and let city-regions really take back control.”
GMCA Lead Member for Planning and Housing, Cllr Richard Farnell said; “I welcome IPPR North’s Closer to Home Report.
“The report acknowledges that Greater Manchester continues to lead the way with housing devolution and some of the report’s recommendations are already being implemented here in Greater Manchester.
“The importance of joined up local plans like Greater Manchester’s Spatial Framework (GMSF) is made clear by the report’s authors. Our bold plan, developed for Greater Manchester by Greater Manchester Leaders, will ensure that we have the homes and jobs to deliver continued sustainable economic growth for decades to come. Progress has been made on the GMSF since the report was written and the public consultation on first draft of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework has been launched today.
“A lifting of National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) land use restrictions, where brownfield opportunities alone are insufficient to deliver the housing supply that is needed, would warmly welcomed by Greater Manchester Leaders. Other recommendations from the report, including more flexibility across funding streams for housing and access to resources that can help us unlock stalled sites requiring significant investment in infrastructure or remediation would also help Greater Manchester to deliver the homes we need.
