A new national housing agency has been launched today by housing secretary Sajid Javid in a bid to boost housebuilding.
Homes England - a successor to the Homes and Communities Agency - is tasked to deliver an average of 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.
The agency, which was introduced in the government's Housing White Paper, will play a major role in securing land and resourcing brownfield sites from across the country.
Nick Walkley, chief executive of Homes England, said: 'As Homes England, we will use our land, finance and expertise to expand the delivery of affordable new homes and connect ambitious partners to remove barriers to house building.'
Homes England will also develop a new commercial approach to acquiring, preparing, managing and developing land in areas of high demand and strategic importance.
Terrie Alafat chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: 'We welcome the launch of Homes England today.
'The agency promises to bring together a greater range of strategic powers and resources, which combined with its expertise, will allow it to take new and innovative approaches which could make a real difference to get us building more homes at a crucial time.'
