MAYOR Steve Rotheram today revealed a £2bn plan to build more than 63,000 new homes in the Liverpool City Region.

Work with the City Region’s local authorities and housing associations has identified more than 300 sites on which over 63,000 homes could be built – including nearly 31,000 in Liverpool alone.

The LCR Housing Pipeline identifies proposals that will accelerate housing delivery and regeneration. It follows a recent announcement of £700m for new social and affordable housing – the biggest single investment into housebuilding in the City Region.

The Combined Authority will this month be asked to approve work carried out to date to progress the pipeline to deliver the new homes, and endorse the approach to prioritise development funding for projects within the pipeline.

Endorsement of the pipeline would enable detailed work to proceed on preparing the sites for investment and delivery, coordinated with wider Combined Authority investments in transport infrastructure and economic development and support from Homes England for prioritised sites through the Strategic Place Partnership.  

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:- “A decent home isn’t a privilege – it’s the foundation for everything else in life. Right now, too many families across our City region are being priced out or left waiting while good sites sit stalled and unused. This plan is about changing that. By using our powers, backing our local councils and working hand-in-hand with housing associations and Homes England, we can unlock difficult sites, get spades in the ground and build the homes our communities actually need. With the biggest investment in social and affordable housing our Region has ever seen, we’re proving that when decisions are taken locally, we can move faster, attract investment and deliver real change – not just for today, but for the next generation too.”

Jointly with Homes England, the Combined Authority is already investing £1.3m to bring forward a major programme of 309 priority sites across Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral, identified through a Strategic Place Partnership (SPP) with Homes England.

At the January 23 meeting, members will be asked to approve the pipeline and endorse the creation of a Housing Investment Fund, aimed at unlocking stalled sites and accelerating delivery.

An estimated £1bn is needed to support 139 projects while the full pipeline of 309 sites could require support totalling £2bn. To accelerate the housebuilding and regeneration programme, the Combined Authority will also be asked to endorse work to establish a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC).

Duncan Inglis, Director – North, Homes England said:- "We’re proud to be working with the Liverpool City Region to turn ambition into action. Through our Strategic Place Partnership, we’re helping to tackle the barriers to development and ensure that these homes are built where they’re needed most – supporting vibrant communities and sustainable growth."

Building new homes in urban areas is mainly held back by financial viability. Rising construction prices, higher borrowing rates, and stricter building rules mean many projects would cost more to build than their value when finished. This discourages developers and increases the need for public funding. Currently, the pipeline includes a £1 billion ask to the public sector to support 139 of 309 planned projects. Further review is needed for the remaining sites, but delivering all the homes in the pipeline could require close to £2 billion in public investment.

The next stage of developing the pipeline will involve working with the wider housing market to find ways to speed up delivery of sites in the pipeline and gain a clearer picture of current activity, focusing on existing SPP Priority Areas.

As part of this market engagement, the Combined Authority is hosting an event on 5 February, bringing together all interested parties, including contractors, developers, investors, Housing Associations, Local Authorities.  This will be a launch event for on ongoing LCR Developer Forum, intended to build confidence in the market and support developers in building much-needed new homes.

The Combined Authority will also hear how a joint team of officers from the Combined Authority and Liverpool City Council will work together to develop a detailed business case for both the proposed designation of an Mayoral Development Area (MDA) covering the North Docks area of Liverpool and the establishment of a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) to manage its regeneration.

Whilst the MDC will initially be focused on a North Docks MDA, officers will look to develop a model that can be rolled out efficiently across other priority regeneration areas within the Liverpool City Region.