Economic Growth Conference Focus On Development and Regeneration Projects
This week the West of England Economic Growth Conference was back with a focus on making development and regeneration projects happen to drive economic growth within the region.
Alliance Homes Group CEO Louise Swain presented at the conference yesterday and explained how we’re contributing to economic growth in the region through our five-year strategic plan.
“As a social housing provider, our purpose is to improve lives and benefit communities offering housing and support to more than 12,000 people in the West of England.
“It’s estimated that nationally 300,000 extra homes needed each year by 2025, and the shortage of affordable homes remains high on national agenda. According to the National Housing Federation’s Home Truths Report, in the south west, the five-year shortfall is 21,597, and it’s clear we need to do more to tackle the unaffordability of buying a home or renting in the private market.
“With the unveiling of the Social Housing Green Paper in August, and last month’s speech by Theresa May announcing £2bn investment in housing from 2022, we’re welcoming government’s desire to change the perception of social housing. Ms May wants to see social housing so good people are proud to call it their home, and I’m pleased that number 10 understands the part the sector needs to and can play. But our sector is set against a backdrop of socioeconomic changes with an ageing population and increased health needs, and the pace of digital transformation quickening. As housing providers, we need to do more, and with pace.
“What are we doing to bridge the gap? At Alliance, we’ve built a five-year strategy which aims to not just increase the supply housing but to also help support our customers into employment to help them sustain their tenancy.
“Government support for housebuilding in the West of England is set to help nearly double the number of new homes delivered historically. At Alliance, we’re at the outset of delivering 1,000 new homes over the next five years through land-led builds and section 106 agreements.
“Becoming a member of the newly relaunched Homes for the South West sees us working collaboratively with other registered providers of social housing to identify and tackle the barriers to new housing in our region. Together, we own over 180,000 homes housing over a million people. Our collective voice is making the case for new housing at a local, regional and national level, as we strive to build 16,000 new homes before 2020. We’re ambitious about the role we can play together to invest in and build more homes in the South West.”
