Planning and Infrastructure Bill – what NHC members need to know

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The government recently published its long-awaited Planning and Infrastructure Bill. This Bill aims to provide a more consistent, streamlined framework for planning decisions, reducing the time taken for decisions on major infrastructure and housing developments.

There are five key objectives the Government intend to achieve through the Bill:

  1. Delivering a faster and more certain consenting process for critical infrastructure
  2. Introducing a more strategic approach to nature recovery, most significantly through the introduction of a Nature Recovery Fund
  3. Improving certainty and decision-making in the planning system
  4. Unlocking land and securing public value for large scale investment
  5. Introducing effective new mechanisms for cross-boundary strategic planning.

The Bill has several key elements which are relevant to housing providers and local authorities in the North. A full guide to the Bill is available here, but some of the key measures for Northern Housing Consortium members are outlined below.

Objective Key policy measures How will it work?
Delivering a faster and more certain consenting process for critical infrastructure

 

 Electricity network connections The system for new energy infrastructure being connected to the national electricity grid will move from ‘first come, first served’ to ensuring that projects are the closest to completion are prioritised or ‘first ready, first connected’.

 

The current system has been blamed for the delivery of new energy infrastructure being significantly delayed and it is thought this change will accelerate the delivery of clean energy infrastructure, reducing energy bills for households.

 
Introducing a more strategic approach to nature recovery Introduction of a new Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) Developers will be able to pay in to the Nature Restoration Fund, administered by Natural England, that will focus on delivering nature recovery locally and compensates for the environmental impacts of development on specific areas or sites, as an alternative to requiring project-by-project mitigation.

 

Natural England will bring forward Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) that set out the strategic action to be taken to address the impact of development on protected sites or species. The developer’s contribution to the NRF would then be used to deliver these actions and the developer would no longer be required to carry out their own assessments or deliver interventions for issues addressed by the EDP.

 
Improving certainty and decision-making in the planning system

 

 Sub-delegation and localisation of planning fees Local Planning Authorities will be empowered to set planning fees within their areas, while retaining the current fee categories (household, minor and major applications). Income from planning fees should, in the future, cover the full costs of delivering an effective planning service and allow for reinvestment back into planning teams.
Reforms to planning committee size and delegation Government intends to introduce a national scheme of delegation which will set out a uniform approach as to which planning applications should be delegated to planning officers, and which should be considered by a planning committee or subcommittee.

Government also intend on further regulating the size of planning committees “to support effective debate and avoid sprawling committees”.

 

In addition, all planning committee members will be required to undertake mandatory training.
Unlocking land and securing public value for large scale investment

 

 Reforming Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) Government hopes to accelerate compulsory purchase orders in the future, so they can play a greater part in housing and infrastructure delivery. This will include allowing statutory notices to be delivered electronically, streamlining the future CPO process and extending the ability to remove ‘hope value’ compensation to town/parish and community councils when they are using CPO powers to deliver affordable or social housing.

 
Introducing effective new mechanisms for cross-boundary strategic planning

 

 Planning housing growth beyond individual local authorities through Spatial Development Strategies Combined authorities, upper-tier county councils and unitary authorities will be required to develop a Spatial Development Strategy for their areas. New ‘strategic planning boards’ will be able to prepare SDSs on behalf of authorities or groups of authorities.

 

An individual local authority’s local plan must be “in general conformity” with the SDS under these arrangements.

HACT Social Value Conference 2-3/04/25 – Book Your Place

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This must-attend event brings together experts in the latest thinking and innovation to challenge, inform and drive the agenda for Social Value.

Register your attendance here

Our free, two-day, online event draws some fantastic and inspirational speakers covering topics from across the board, encouraging those who are at any stage of their social value journey to dip in and out over the event to hear discussions, best practices and conversations.

Day 1

  • 10 years of the UKSVB: What we’ve learned and where we go next
  • From policy to practice: Driving accountability and delivery in Procurement
  • Small Resources, Big Impact: Unlocking the potential of the impact created in smaller organisations
  • Stepping out and stepping up: How local authorities and public sector organisations make the shift towards transformative social value

Day 2

  • It’s about us! Real people, real impact
  • Power and Purpose: Social Value in a changing political era.
  • The role of contractors in delivering long-term social value through the built environment
  • Is social-washing the new green-washing?

Register your attendance here

NHC Procurement consulting on Active Fire Framework – Please share and respond

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NHC Procurement are keen to hear from members on the development of their Active Fire Framework.

Your support in sharing and responding to the below questionnaire would be greatly appreciated.

The framework will be a key tool in supporting members to ensure their homes are safe and decent, providing an essential service addressing fire and building safety concerns.

The framework encompasses:

  • Detecting Stopping Escaping Fire
  • Manual and automatic action;
    • Extinguishers
    • Sprinklers
    • Alarms
    • Emergency escape items
    • Wet and dry risers

The link to the questionnaire is below and should take around 5minutes to complete.

ACTIVE FIRE FRAMEWORK – Member Engagement Questionnaire

 Please do take the time to respond or share with your procurement and building safety colleagues, and anyone you think may be interested in sharing their views.

Your response will help us to ensure we develop a framework that meets our member needs.

North West Housing Forum comes together to discuss devolution

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With the English Devolution White Paper published, the North West Housing Forum bringing together social housing, local government, and key stakeholders to discuss the wide ranging opportunities for the region.

The meeting takes place 9th April, 12.30 – 15.00, Preston Town Hall (Lancaster Road, Preston, Lancashire). 

The Forum has a long history of working proactively with government on sub-regional housing and regeneration issues, having originally been established to engage with the regional structures of the early 2000’s on these matters. Many will remember the Forum’s early success as part of the stakeholder group influential in the establishment of the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders, as well as the extension of the programme in the North West.

December’s English Devolution White Paper provides a huge opportunity for the region. Cumbria and Cheshire & Warrington have each been placed on the government’s Devolution Priority Programme and will elect Mayors by May 2026. Lancashire has come together under a Combined County Authority. Whilst Liverpool and Greater Manchester continue to pave the way for devolution in the North West, gaining further powers and responsibilities.

To discuss the White Paper and opportunities for the region, we will be joined in Preston by:

  • Jacqui De-Rose, Chief Executive, Progress Housing Group
  • Dr Tom Arnold, Heseltine Institute, Liverpool University
  • Tracy Gordon, Lead Officer – Housing Partnerships, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
  • Noel Sharpe, Group Chief Executive Officer, Bolton at Home & Vice Chair, Greater Manchester Housing Providers

With such a mixture of arrangements and experience, the need for collaboration and knowledge sharing is crucial. No more so than across housing and regeneration. The sector will be key to delivering ambitious housing targets. At the same time, more can be done to inject similar ambition into a programme of housing-led regeneration, improving standards and quality of life across communities. As in the past, the Forum will provide a vital space to advance these discussions.

For further information contact:

Matthew Johnston, Member Engagement Officer, Northern Housing Consortium; matthew.johnston@northern-consortium.org.uk

Showcasing improvements to home quality and safety in Huddersfield with Harpreet Uppal, MP

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We visited Kirklees Council’s Buxton House in Huddersfield with MP for Huddersfield, Harpreet Uppal. Kirklees Council is investing £16m on the tower block to refurbish and remodel the building, with improvements to fire safety, energy efficiency and quality of the homes.

Kirklees Council have developed the ‘Huddersfield Blueprint’, a ten-year vision to create a thriving, modern-day town centre. The work to improve Buxton House aligns closely to the aspirations of the Blueprint, particularly around improvements to the appearance and contribution to sustainable and affordable town centre living.

The project will result in 46 new one and two bed affordable apartments, meeting modern building regulations and designed to link to the proposed Huddersfield Heat Network.

We are keen to continue to highlight the fantastic work our members are doing across the North to build new homes, improve the quality of existing homes, and reach net zero targets – please get in touch in your organisation has a project you would like to showcase (josef.bews@northern-consortium.org.uk).

Housing Minister announces £2 billion of new Affordable Homes Programme funding

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On 25th March, the government announced a £2 billion top up and one year extension for the Affordable Homes Programme, aiming to deliver a further 18,000 new social and affordable homes. Following this, the Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, has written to all housing association chief executives, through the Northern Housing Consortium, National Housing Federation and other sector bodies.

The Minister’s letter confirms that the majority of this new funding will be allocated for the financial year 2026/27, will be delivered under the terms of the current 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme, and will prioritise the delivery of new homes for social rent. This means that this new funding will be able to benefit from the regeneration flexibilities introduced to the current programme in 2023, which allow grant funding to fund replacement homes on regeneration schemes where there is a net addition of homes overall.

The Minister also confirmed that the Spending Review “will set out the full details of a new grant programme to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme”, and that this will include further grant funding for new homes for both 2026/27 and subsequent years. This new funding, therefore, will act as a bridge between the current Affordable Homes Programme and its successor.

The full letter can from the Housing Minister can be found here.

In response to the announcement, Tracy Harrison, Chief Executive of the Northern Housing Consortium, said:

“We called for immediate action in the Spring Statement on the Affordable Homes Programme, so this £2 billion top up is very welcome. It will mean our members can continue to build much needed social homes at a time when housing waiting lists and homelessness are rising in the North. We are pleased that even in challenging times the Government is prioritising making sure everyone has a good quality, affordable, safe home.

“We look forward to details of the new longer-term programme at the Spending Review in the summer. We have called for the new fund to have a greater role for Mayoral Combined Authorities so there is more flexibility to meet local needs, something the Government indicated they are looking at in the English Devolution White Paper. To meet the needs of communities in the North regeneration and housing quality must also be a priority. This includes flexibility with affordable homes funding so it can be used to replace poor quality existing homes and a separate £1.37 billion fund over 5 years to support housing led neighbourhood regeneration in the North.”

You can read the NHC’s full Spending Review submission here.

A supportive and encouraging culture at the NHC

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NHC Procurement Senior Procurement & Contracts Officer Rachel Merch shares her experience of working at the NHC. She’s been with us for 17 years, working initially in events and finance before transitioning over to our procurement team 9 years ago.

Rachel is responsible for all aspects of running tenders from document checking to contract drafting. She prides herself on the support she provides to members from the start of the process right through to completion.

 

How would you describe the culture at the NHC?

It’s very supportive and encouraging, and is so flexible, offering a fantastic work life balance and providing opportunities for people in their professional development. Having such an approachable and friendly culture means the organisation gets the best out of everyone and allows us to support our members.

 

What do you like to do outside of work?

I enjoy walking my dog, running, and spending quality time with my husband and two children. My favourite spots to walk are along the North East Coastline and in the county Durham countryside.

 

Where would you like to see the NHC in 50 years’ time?

I envision the NHC going from strength to strength and maintaining its commitment to supporting and empowering our members and their communities.

Enhancing Marketing Processes with Digital Tools

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Dan Ellwood, Senior Communications & Marketing Officer

 

What has been a highlight from your time at the NHC? 

The NHC’s 50th celebrations has been a highlight for me, I have been with the NHC for over 6 years now and it’s great when you get the opportunity to spend time with the staff, celebrating the NHC’s great work over the past 50 years.

 

What have you learnt while working at the NHC?

I have learned a lot while working for the NHC, technology is my passion, and I have introduced many new programmes to the NHC during my time here. From design app Canva which reduces design time and allows for team flexibility, to Dynamics 365 for marketing (our email marketing system) and Flipsnack, the interactive way to present plain old PDFs! I’m constantly looking for new ways to improve our marketing processes and now the age of AI is here, there are a lot of possibilities.

 

What do you like to do outside of work? 

Outside of work, I like to keep myself busy. The garden is my focus, I host during the summer for friends and family, which means a lot of BBQ and cocktail prep!  In a recent comms catch-up the question ‘What is the best advice you have been given’ came up, and my answer was ‘Give anything a try, if you fail all you’ve lost is a bit of time’. I live by that daily, from laying flooring to failing to fix the shower 8 times, the 9th did it.

 

How would you describe the culture at the NHC? 

The culture at the NHC is great, and I’m not saying that with a gun against my head either, it really is! Often, I chat to family and friends about their working arrangement in comparison to the NHC’s and more often than not its greeted with disbelief. They genuinely care about their staff, you have the time for personal development and the door is always open from management all the way up to our CEO, that’s rare…

Understanding the need for regeneration in the North – member research

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To better understand the issues related to the North’s ageing homes and the need for future regeneration funding streams, we surveyed a group of housing association members. The findings have been shared directly with the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and they also formed part of our Spending Review submission to the HM Treasury.

Responses to the survey came from housing associations that collectively own and manage approximately 340,000 Low-Cost Rental Accommodation homes with representation from each of the three northern regions. The size of landlord respondents ranged from 9,000 to 49,000 homes, with the largest provider having some operations outside of the North.

Executive Director of Policy and Public Affairs Patrick Murray said: “We know regeneration is a real need for communities across the North and that members face some big challenges around homes coming to the end of their life and places in need of renewal. It’s vital we understand the scale of this so we can put forward a strong case to Government for housing-led neighbourhood regeneration.

“We have met with MHCLG officials several times to discuss the survey results and are providing further information to support their Spending Review work. The Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook raised these issues at a recent event, so we know it’s gaining prominence with Government.”

Key findings are below, or you can read a summary report here.

Key takeaways:

  • Of the c.340,000 homes owned and managed by respondents, it is believed that around 6,450 (1.9%) will be unable to remain compliant with emerging regulatory requirements between now and 2030 due to physical or structural constraints, so will need to be replaced. Applied to the North of England more widely, an estimated 25,500 social homes would fall into this category.
  • Certain property archetypes are more likely to fall into this category. This includes pre-1919 housing, listed buildings, non-traditionally built stock and twentieth century high-rise blocks of flats, including those built using Large Panel System (LPS) construction, that will struggle to achieve EPC Band C.
  • Of the c.340,000 homes owned and managed by respondents, around 11,900 (3.5%) will meet one or more of three ‘end of life categories’ in the next five years. Applied to the North of England more widely, this would be 46,952 social homes in total. This rises to 7.6% or 101,757 homes when the timeframe is extended to the next 10 years. End of life categories include homes that would not meet regulatory requirements, are not finically viable or homes located in an area in need of regeneration.
  • Of the 11,900 homes identified as approaching ‘end of life’ in the next five years, 4,507 (38%) were identified as being in sites where densification would be possible. However, densification was not always a desirable outcome, for example, where providers wish to replace low-demand, outdated bedsits or other small properties with family homes in an area with high demand for larger homes. To address this there will need to be flexibility with net additionality requirements of grant programmes to enable housing providers to meet the needs of the community in their area.
  • A relatively small number of homes, especially twentieth century high rise blocks of flats, are causing significant financial issues for housing providers due to exceptionally high repairs and maintenance costs. It is likely that these homes will be impossible for the landlord to maintain into the future.
  • Of the c.340,000 homes owned and managed by respondents, 9.4% were deemed to be in an area in need of physical regeneration. Applied across the North of England, this would be 126,012 homes in total.
  • The social housing sector needs long term certainty about future funding and policy to plan. As part of our Spending Review response the NHC called for a £1.37 billion fund over 5 years for housing-led neighbourhood regeneration in the North. For the sector to be able to deliver good quality homes and be financially stable this must sit alongside, flexibility in the Affordable Homes Programme to support regeneration, confirmation of the new Decent Homes Standard and the right financial support to improve quality and energy efficiency of homes.

NHC welcomes new funding for energy efficiency improvements

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The government has announced funding allocations for Wave 3 of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (previously known as the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund or SHDF) and for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which are set to improve the energy efficiency of up to 170,000 homes.

Tracy Harrison, Chief Executive of the Northern Housing Consortium said:

“The North has lots of older, colder homes – with 1 in 5 built before 1919 and almost a million households currently in fuel poverty – so this Warm Homes investment will make a big difference to people’s lives. NHC members, including housing associations, local authorities and combined authorities across the North, are working to tackle this by installing tens of thousands of energy efficiency measures from heat pumps to home insulation. 

This extra funding from government is very welcome and will boost these efforts, helping to cut carbon emissions, support jobs, cut fuel bills and tackle fuel poverty. We also welcome the move to devolve retrofit funding in the North through the allocation of funding to Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Integrated Settlement.  

This will allow funding to better align with locally led plans for economic growth, training and skills provision, as well as support greater collaboration between housing providers in Greater Manchester. We know there is continuing appetite from our members to continue to make our homes more energy efficient.”

In total, the third wave of the Social Housing Fund will see £1.29bn allocated across 144 individual projects. Funding will be distributed through one of two distinct funding routes. These are the Challenge Fund, which will work in a similar fashion to current funding programmes, and Strategic Partnerships which aim to provide a greater level of flexibility, and reduced up-front administrative requirements, for more experienced providers, or consortia of providers, in delivering their energy efficiency upgrades.

Just less than half of the total £1.29 billion of funding will be delivered through Strategic Partnerships, including a significant proportion of funding allocated to the North. For the North, these strategic partnerships will take the form of large partnerships of housing providers, led by a Mayoral Combined Authority. Major strategic partnerships for the North include:

  • Liverpool City Region Combined Authority – £48,090,405
  • Tees Valley Combined Authority (this consortium includes housing associations and local authorities in the North East and Yorkshire) – £43,910,533
  • West Yorkshire Combined Authority – £25,682,461

Major allocations through the Challenge Fund include North Yorkshire Council, whose £21 million allocation, was the single largest allocation through this route.

In addition, government announced a further £600 million for the Warm Homes: Local Grant. This funding is to be allocated to local authorities to improve the energy efficiency of homes of low-income households living in owner occupied or privately rented homes. In total, almost £150 million was allocated to 46 local authorities in the North across 23 bids. Allocations to councils in the North are in the table below:

Local authority Funding allocation (Local Grant)
Barnsley £1,538,552
Blackpool (as part of a consortium of 13 councils) £30,039,099
Bradford £7,106823
Calderdale £3,206,150
Cheshire East (as part of a consortium of 3 councils) £7,782,725
County Durham £2,055,853
Darlington (as part of a consortium of 4 councils) £13,953,865
Doncaster £1,604,111
East Riding of Yorkshire £1,500,000
Gateshead £1,500,000
Hartlepool £2,391,408
Kingston upon Hull £3,402,806
Leeds £5,963,439
Liverpool City Region (as part of a consortium of 6 councils) £31,805,813
Newcastle upon Tyne £2,294,325
North Tyneside £4,281,163
North Yorkshire £5,974,078
Northumberland £2,530,853
Sheffield £3,406,008
Sunderland £1,500,000
Wakefield £1,500,000
Westmorland & Furness (as part of a consortium of 2 councils) £11,828,581
York £2,037,677
   
North £149,203,329

 

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will receive an allocation of this funding as part of the Warm Homes and Public Sector Decarbonisation Devolution Programme, as part of their integrated settlement.   Details of this will be  announced as part of the Spending Review.

Full lists of funding, for both the Challenge Fund and Strategic Partnerships of the Social Housing Fund, can be found here. The full list of funding allocations for the Local Grant can be found here.