Local housing partnerships are the ‘only way’ to tackle the lack of affordable housing in this country, according to a report from think tank ResPublica.
The report is calling for communities to be given new powers to petition councils to create Local Place Partnerships, a local institution which brings together relevant stakeholders to make decisions about long term house building.
Devo Home: A double devolution of housing to people and places also says councils who refuse to set up such a body must clearly explain why to residents, who could appeal to the Department for Communities and Local Government if unsatisfied with the response.
Director of ResPublica, Phillip Blond, said: ‘The only way that we will mitigate the Whitehall ‘command and control’ model, and an old local authority led model is by introducing a new institution that draws a wide range of partners together to coordinate the building of genuinely affordable and aesthetically pleasing homes, and provide the infrastructure needed for communities to thrive.
‘Local Place Partnerships can offer the ecosystem of support and single point of decision making needed to ensure the swift delivery of the homes we need.’
The report also recommended exploring new ways of funding new house building such as using local government investment to stimulate foreign demand and utilising the Local Government Pension scheme as another source of finance.
