A new taskforce has been established to tackle blockers to housing on public land
The new public land taskforce has been announced today.
The purpose of the taskforce is to release public land through using surplus public defence land.
Network Rail will also be delivering homes
The government has been using several taskforces for housing, including the New Towns taskforce and the Older People’s housing taskforce.
The public land taskforce will identify unused land, and then via cross-government collaboration, will release and develop the land.
The newly developed partnership will look at new delivery models, agreements between Network Rail, the Ministry of Defence, Homes England, and other relevant government bodies, and begin to involve the private sector to bring more new homes more quickly.
Alongside the public land taskforce, Network Rail is setting up a new property company that will develop 40,000 new homes in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Cambridge, Manchester, and Nottingham.
Network Rail and London & Continental Railways will co-operate to form a new property company to bring in both public and private investment in developing brownfield sites. The company will become operational later in the year and can deliver up to 40,000 new homes in the next decade.
The first of the public land taskforce’s unlocked land will be defence land
The first batch of land to be released include a site in Ripon, currently under control of the Ministry of Defence.
The site will be given to Homes England, and Deverell Barracks will see construction of 1,300 homes begin within a year.
MOD sites pegged for development include:
- Chetwynd Barracks in Nottinghamshire and Wyton Airfield in Cambridgeshire (creating 1,300 homes)
- Deverell Barracks, near Ripon, North Yorkshire(also creating 1,300 homes)
Deputy prime minister and housing secretary, Angela Rayner, said: “So many working people and families are locked out of the dream of a secure home and this is a direct consequence of the housing crisis we’ve inherited.
“That’s why we’re unlocking public land today for much-needed new housing to help end the housing crisis, deliver 1.5m homes, and unleash growth as part of our Plan for Change.”
Defence secretary John Healey said: “This work will unlock thousands of new homes on surplus defence land, including in North Yorkshire, Nottingham and Cambridgeshire – developments promised for years by the last government, but never delivered.
“This heralds a new, trailblazer approach to the use of public land which will not be a fire sale of public assets, but a truly cross-government effort to remove blockers, deliver homes and boost growth in support of our Plan for Change.
“This taskforce is a bold first step, as we make the most of an historic opportunity to build over 100,000 homes on surplus defence land in the coming years, delivering on our commitments to British families and our Armed Forces.”
