New Homes Accelerator call for evidence: response
Published 13 February 2025
Applies to England
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From: NewHomesAccelerator@communities.gov.uk
Date: February 2025
Many thanks for submitting evidence to the New Homes Accelerator via the call for evidence, email or other means. The information you have submitted has helped us to build a much stronger picture of the issues in the system and where government support can make a difference. We wanted to write to you to provide further detail of the work of the New Homes Accelerator, and next steps.
The New Homes Accelerator (NHA) is a collaboration between the government, Homes England and the Greater London Authority, working with local authorities, developers and other key stakeholders to unblock and accelerate the delivery of housing developments that are, for various reasons, not progressing as quickly as they could be. The NHA is a key component of the government’s commitment to deliver 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament.
The call for evidence (which launched on 29 August 2024 and closed on 31 October 2024), and ongoing engagement with stakeholders across the planning and development sectors, has identified 725 developments of 500+ homes outlining their barriers to delivery and opportunities for acceleration with about 50% aiming to deliver more than 1,500 new homes. This level of response has surpassed expectations, highlighting the value of developing a better understanding of the barriers facing large-scale developments.
The call for evidence has identified both systemic problems with the planning and development process, and site-specific issues. Systemic issues include the role of statutory consultees (and other organisations involved in the development process), infrastructure delivery, utilities provision and environmental factors. MHCLG has begun to work with relevant bodies to further understand the causes of these issues and consider any changes that can accelerate delivery. Many sites facing those systemic issues will benefit from this work indirectly.
MHCLG and Homes England are working together to assess what support is possible for specific sites, and where it is best directed to support the government’s ambition to deliver 1.5m homes during this Parliamentary term. The government is prioritising larger sites with the potential to deliver 1,500 homes in or before 2029 in the first instance. The programme may look to support smaller developments where it makes sense to do so, but we are clear that larger sites which can contribute to the 1.5m ambition are the priority.
More generally, the evidence presented through this exercise has been and will continue to be extremely useful in better understanding the issues facing large-scale housing developments, enabling government to act to improve the system. In assessing the sites submitted for intervention, MHCLG and Homes England will be contacting sites which are identified as likely to benefit from support to gather further information and, where it is judged that support will be effective, agree the offer of support.
Yours sincerely,
The New Homes Accelerator Team