Hull and East Yorkshire join forces with Homes England to unlock homes, regeneration and investment
New Strategic Place Partnership will bring local priorities, national expertise and a shared pipeline of sites together to speed up housing and regeneration across the region
Luke Campbell MBE, Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire and Pat Ritchie CBE, Chair of Homes England
Hull and East Yorkshire has taken a major step towards getting more homes built and bringing underused land back into use through a new long-term partnership with Homes England.
Mayor Luke Campbell MBE and Pat Ritchie CBE, Chair of Homes England, signed the agreement at Hull Guildhall, marking the start of a long-term approach to bringing forward housing and regeneration priorities across the region.
The Strategic Place Partnership brings Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority (HEYCA), Homes England, Hull City Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council together around a shared approach to housing and regeneration across the region.
Rather than looking at major sites in isolation, the partnership will help build a coordinated pipeline of priority developments, bring Homes England’s national expertise in earlier and allow partners to work together on the issues that can prevent good schemes from getting off the ground.
That includes questions around land, infrastructure, viability and investment, as well as making sure new housing is planned alongside transport, jobs and the wider needs of communities.
The partnership will build on work already under way across Hull and East Yorkshire.
One example is East Bank Urban Village in Hull, where largely vacant brownfield land beside the River Hull is planned to become a new riverside neighbourhood of up to 850 homes, alongside commercial space, green areas and better walking and cycling connections. Phase one construction is currently expected to begin in 2027.
In East Yorkshire, Homes England is already working with East Riding of Yorkshire Council on plans at Easton Road in Bridlington and the redevelopment of Alamein Barracks in Driffield, while also supporting partners with plans for around 1,800 homes at Howden.
The agreement also supports HEYCA’s wider Local Growth Plan, which links housing and regeneration with the things needed to grow the economy, including jobs, transport, infrastructure and investment.
It means housing can increasingly be looked at as part of the wider future of a place rather than simply one site at a time, helping to give government, developers and investors a clearer picture of where Hull and East Yorkshire wants to grow and what is needed to make that happen.
Working alongside Hull City Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council in their housing and planning roles, HEYCA will use its regional reach and devolved powers to help connect priority sites with wider infrastructure, investment and regeneration opportunities.
The longer-term ambition is not simply to build more houses, but to make better use of brownfield and underused land to create modern mixed-use neighbourhoods where homes sit alongside jobs, businesses, green space, transport and the everyday things people need.
The SPP will help establish joint priorities and ways of working and is centred around building a deliverable pipeline and a shared business plan for bringing those proposals forward. The ambition is that every place with a Strategic Place Partnership will ultimately be well placed to progress to a Place Delivery Agreement, which brings together the powers, expertise, investment and delivery capability of Homes England and the National Housing Bank to further support mayoral ambitions for housing, regeneration and growth.
Mayor Luke Campbell MBE, Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire said:
There is huge, untapped potential across Hull and East Yorkshire. We have brownfield and underused land that can become new homes, new neighbourhoods and places where people genuinely want to live.
I want us to be ambitious about what comes next. That means more city centre living, modern mixed-use neighbourhoods, bringing homes, businesses and green spaces together, and breathing new life into parts of our region that have been overlooked.
We should be every bit as ambitious for Hull and East Yorkshire as anywhere else in the country. This partnership gives us another way to turn that ambition into something people can see and be proud of.
Pat Ritchie CBE, Chair of Homes England, said:
Hull and East Yorkshire has a proud history, strong communities and a clear ambition for the future.
Through this Strategic Place Partnership, we will work with the Mayor and local partners to align investment, unlock growth and regeneration, and create opportunities that make a real difference to people across the region.
Following the signing, representatives from HEYCA and Homes England visited Hull Fruit Market and the East Bank to see regeneration already delivered and discuss the next generation of opportunities for the region.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
For further information, please contact press@hullandeastyorkshire.gov.uk
Mayor@hullandeastyorkshire.gov.uk or media@homesengland.gov.uk.
About Homes England
Homes England is the government’s housing and regeneration Agency, and we’re here to drive the creation of more affordable, quality homes and thriving places so that everyone has a place to live and grow. We make this happen by working in partnership with thousands of organisations of all sizes, using our powers, expertise, land, capital and influence to bring investment to communities and get more quality homes built. Learn more about us
What is a Strategic Place Partnership (SPP)?
A Strategic Place Partnership is a formal framework through which Homes England and local partners agree shared housing and regeneration priorities and work together on delivery. In Hull and East Yorkshire, it will support a coordinated pipeline of priority opportunities and help partners align expertise, investment and wider resources around the places with the greatest potential.
For Homes England media enquiries please contact: media@homesengland.gov.uk
or 0207 874 8262
About Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority
Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority is the devolved body which allows powers and funding to come from Westminster to our region. Led by elected mayor, Luke Campbell MBE, our ambition is to drive productivity and economic prosperity throughout Hull and East Yorkshire.