Memorandum from the Homes and Communities
Agency (SE 06)
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is
the new, single housing and regeneration delivery agency for England.
It was established on 1 December, combining the land and property
expertise of the former English Partnerships; the affordable housing
delivery expertise of the former Housing Corporation; and various
Communities and Local Government functions and programmes including
Growth Areas/Points, Decent Homes, ALMOs, PFI and Gypsies &
Travellers. The HCA also incorporates the former Academy for Sustainable
Communities providing expertise to external organisations on creating
and renewing high quality sustainable places.
1.2 The HCA's vision is to create opportunities for
people and places:
— for people, a home they can afford and
a place they want to live in; and
— for places, fulfilling local needs, aspirations
and ambitions.
1.3 HCA has only recently been established but
its predecessors have worked with SEEDA at both the regional and
local level. With SEEDA taking the lead on the new Single Regional
Strategy, and with the HCA linking its significant public investment
to the broader economic, social and environmental agendas, the
relationship of the HCA with SEEDA will take on increasing importance
in the future. This is more so, given the current market conditions.
1.4 This written response focuses primarily
on SEEDA's role with respect to physical regeneration and its
future roles and responsibilities. The HCA is not in a position
to give a view on all of the areas of focus of the Select Committee.
2. PRODUCTION OF
THE REGIONAL
ECONOMIC STRATEGY
AND THE
LEVEL OF
INVOLVEMENT OF
REGIONAL STAKEHOLDERS
2.1 The predecessor organisations of the HCA
(Housing Corporation and English Partnerships) were involved in
the consultation process to produce the latest version of the
RES through their membership of the Regional Housing Board. This
primarily involved attendance at workshops to provide feedback
on draft versions, and the opportunity to comment on proposed
priorities and actions of relevance.
3. EFFECTIVENESS
OF THE
REGIONAL ECONOMIC
STRATEGY IN
DELIVERING AGAINST
ITS TARGETS
3.1 The RES has a clear geographical focus with
its growth priorities (based on a "Diamonds for Investment
and Growth" and the strategic "Hubs" approach)
and the regeneration priorities (based on coastal areas and towns
in the region). It also has some key region-wide priorities such
as a focus on the rural areas, primarily from an economic/business
perspective but on sustainability more generally.
3.2 This presents a sound geographical basis that
covers a significant part of the region and is consistent with
other key regional strategies, notably the South East Plan.
3.3 SEEDA is committed to working at a sub-regional
and local to deliver on its objectives. It rightly confirms the
Local Area Agreement (LAA) and Multi-Area Agreement (MAA) vehicles
as crucial to ensuring its objectives link and relate to more
local objectives. This is a view shared by other key stakeholders
in ensuring that local ambitions and aspirations are met, whilst
set within an over-arching regional framework established through
the RES.
3.4 Whilst the RES can support policy objectives
and work with the market, the broad targets and expected outcomes
are strongly influenced by broader economic and market conditions.
For example measures to reduce the affordability ratio measured
by median house prices and median income will have improved in
the last 12 months due to the general housing market conditions
with lower average or median house prices in the region.
3.5 The RES has an expected outcome of 32,000
new homes per annum, with 35% of these affordable. Recent housing
numbers have been close, and even exceeded this annual average,
but in the immediate future numbers will decrease for reasons
beyond the region's economy. Likewise, affordable housing where
the overall numbers and 35% target has not been achieved, this
reflects planning policy and market conditions rather than the
RES.
3.6 At a more local level SEEDA is an important
player in supporting and co-ordinating the activities of the Brownfield
Land Assembly Company (BLAC), which is funded through HCA. BLAC
acquires and remediates small, often derelict, brownfield sites
that the market is not interested in and to make them available
for affordable housing. This contributes to the regeneration of
a local area and the provision of more affordable housing. It
is also an example of public sector intervention when the market
has failed.
3.7 SEEDA has also been strongly supportive
of the concept of a Regional Infrastructure Fund operating in
the South East, including the provision of funding. This is in
the business planning stage in the South East but close to implementation.
3.8 SEEDA has played an important role in a
number of localities in the region, primarily to achieve its regeneration
objectives through a number of activities such as land and property
acquisition: notably, its flagship scheme at Chatham but also
in a number of other locations such as Rochester Riverside, Hastings
and Ashford.
3.9 In addition, SEEDA manages the National
Coalfields Programme sites in the region on behalf of HCA. There
are four sites in the South East where former coalfield communities
have been assisted to create a combination of employment, homes,
community facilities and public open space. With former coalfield
communities suffering greater levels of deprivation this has contributed
to the RES objective of narrowing inequalities.
3.10 Finally, SEEDA has been active in the newly
formed South East Economic Development Committee (SEEDC), and
is a member of the sub-group on housing and regeneration led by
HCA.
4. THE EFFECT
OF THE
FINANCIAL AND
ECONOMIC SITUATION
4.1 SEEDA's physical development activities
have been affected by the current economic downturn.
4.2 A number of schemes have encountered viability
problems and SEEDA is in close liaison with other key regional
stakeholders, including HCA, about supporting the most critical
regeneration schemes and those with the most potential to transform
communities. Examples of this include Chatham Maritime and Woolston,
Southampton.
4.3 In addition, following the Sub-National
Review, with a new focus on economic development and skills, and
a constrained funding environment it is anticipated that SEEDA
will be focusing less on delivering housing and physical regeneration.
5. THE PROPOSED
CHANGES TO
REGIONAL POLICY
5.1 The Local Democracy, Economic Development
and Construction Bill offers SEEDA a more strategic role.
5.2 The main change will be responsibility of SEEDA
for the South East's Single Regional Strategy covering the range
of economic, spatial planning and housing issues faced in the
region. The relationships with local authorities and sub-regional
partnerships will need to be re-ordered to ensure the balance
between regional priorities and meeting local priorities and ambitions
is achieved. This is reflected in the new arrangements following
the abolition of the Regional Assembly.
5.3 SEEDA will need to build on its relationships
with key regional stakeholders who will have responsibility for
delivery and implementation of the single strategy, which include,
HCA, Highways Agency, Environment Agency. SEEDA has recognised
at a very early stage the key role of other regional partners
in both the strategy formulation and implementation aspects of
the Single Regional Strategy.
5.4 It is also imperative that in the change
of responsibilities and new governance arrangements that short
term priorities and focus are not lost. In the current economic
conditions, for example, momentum and focus needs to be maintained
on housing delivery.
6. WORKING WITH
OTHER STAKEHOLDERS
TO DELIVER
THE REGIONAL
ECONOMIC STRATEGY
6.1 Previous sections of this submission have
made reference to SEEDA's current and planned work with stakeholders.
For example, in taking forward developments which have stalled
in the current economic climate, and SEEDA's recognition of the
importance of key stakeholders in formulating and implementing
the Single Regional Strategy.
6.2 The HCA is a national agency that works regionally
and locally. This means balancing national/regional targets and
objectives, and local needs and ambitions. This approach gives
rise to the need to work with a wide variety and number of stakeholders
at different geographical levels.
6.3 With SEEDA taking responsibility for the
principal over-arching strategy for the region it will be important
that it takes a similar approach both in formulating strategy,
consulting with the region and implementation. This should include
working with stakeholders, and where it may be appropriate for
stakeholders to lead on areas of strategy. In the case of housing
delivery, HCA has the expertise to add value in this area.
6.4 The current RES was written at a time of
buoyant market conditions. At present and in the near future it
is important that SEEDA works closely with other organisations,
public and private, to look at new business models in relation
to physical development.
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