North East England’s affordable housing sector will hopefully see healthy growth in 2025 backed by clarity on the new Affordable Housing Programme, according to Stephen McCoy, managing director of Newcastle’s Adderstone Living.
He says that 2024 was a difficult year for getting new schemes off the ground. The change of government and then waiting for budget announcements on grant, meant that many sites that could have come forward were stalled. Added to this, planning continued to be frustratingly slow with environmental complexities and under-resourced local authorities.
With a £5bn of housing investment promised over the next five years and the government’s target of 1.5m new homes within this parliament there really does need to be a seismic shift to get anywhere near these numbers.
Adderstone Living has a strong pipeline of potential developments that will come forward in the coming months, especially if the Government’s Budget promise to plan for thousands of new affordable homes unfolds.
This aims to ensure social housing is available for those who need it the most, helping to meet the ongoing housing shortage and slow the decline in the affordability of home ownership
Plans for a new five-year social housing rent settlement should deliver more certainty around funding, driving investment in new schemes, said Stephen McCoy – and it would be a game changer if there was a 10-year settlement.
He added: “The sector is keenly anticipating the new Housing Strategy, which is expected in the spring. We expect the sector to grasp the development and growth opportunities that will flow from this with more SHP investment coming forward. Hopefully, this will build on the successes to date and deliver the scale and type of affordable housing in the North East that meets regional needs.”
He sees local authorities and housing associations continue shifting closer towards land-led solutions, as they bring forward their own plans to tackle housing shortages and provide quality, sustainable homes. It’s a model that facilitates quicker, cheaper delivery compared to traditional routes of procurement.
“This will involve the sourcing of suitable land, scheme design and securing of planning permissions from sector operators such as Adderstone Living,” Stephen McCoy added, “contributing to further growth for sector companies like us, who are investing in developing new staff and increasing our reach. We now have an office covering Yorkshire along with the expertise to support plans for developments on a wider scale, which will contribute to further success in the coming 12 months.
“Our schemes provide a mix of great affordable properties, giving families across the North of England the opportunity to move up the housing ladder and live in a great part of the country with access to good local services and amenities.”