The PlaceShapers group of housing associations is calling on the Government to make funds available for its members’ work on regenerating housing estates and decarbonisation work on existing stock.
Backed up by published research in a new report ‘Stay local, go far’, the group believes it has made the case for Levelling Up funds to be invested in existing and future work with local communities.
In particular it wants access to Homes England funding programmes (normally reserved for new build work) to pay for the improvement and replacement of existing homes.
The group also wants money made available from the £3.8 billion Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the allocated £800 million for the 2022/25 period as part of the Heat and Buildings Strategy, to be increased. This would help pay for the retrofitting work to existing homes.
Matthew Walker, Chair of PlaceShapers, said:
“Our mission is to put place-shaping at the heart of decision-making to improve lives and communities. So, it is unsurprising that we are fully supportive of the Government’s commitment to level up.
“We know that housing associations already deliver a variety of services to level-up where they have homes, however the scale of the challenge requires a different approach, where Government works more with local communities and adequate investment and support is provided for truly effective levelling-up and regeneration.”
Among other recommendations, the PlaceShapers groups is asking for:
- Combined and local authorities to be granted funding and powers to lead on efforts to improve social infrastructure, working with housing associations, local businesses and wider civil society.
- For greater certainty and opportunities for long term funding to be provided through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to enable housing associations to deliver services, such as direct employment assistance.
The report also includes PlaceShapers member case studies on how they have been involved in levelling-up their communities to date.
By Patrick Mooney, Editor