North East and Homes England launch joint delivery unit
The unit is one of the first collaborations of its kind in England and the largest to be established in the North East, and will focus on unlocking complex development sites and speeding up the delivery of major schemes.
The agreement will see the creation of a joint Major Projects Delivery Unit, bringing together the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, the government agency, and local authority partners.
It will provide shared project oversight, specialist expertise, and coordinated delivery support to bring forward housing and regeneration projects more quickly.
A key focus of the partnership will be unlocking brownfield land for development, alongside accelerating progress across the region’s three Mayoral Development Zones (Newcastle and Gateshead, Sunderland, and Durham).
The initiative is intended to support increased housebuilding, including the delivery of more affordable and social housing, while driving economic growth and job creation.
By pooling resources and expertise, the partners aim to bring forward major projects at pace, supporting the North East’s wider ambitions for housing growth and long-term regeneration.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: “The North East is ambitious about growth, housebuilding and regeneration, and I want to turn that ambition into delivery.
“That includes 15,000 new affordable homes in the next decade to tackle the housing crisis, and ensure a safe, secure and affordable home is within reach for everyone.
“We’re getting on with building more homes, unlocking stalled sites, and working across the region to tackle homelessness, and this new joint-approach will only help drive that further and faster.”
Tom Bridges, executive regional director for the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber at Homes England, said: “The North East has huge potential for growth, and this enhanced partnership with the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, building on our already established Strategic Place Partnership, is exactly the kind of joined-up approach that unlocks it.
“By bringing together our expertise, resources and relationships through the new Major Projects Delivery Unit, we can move faster on the complex sites and major schemes that will make a real difference to people’s lives – more homes, more regeneration and more opportunity across the region.”
How much faster can they go ?
By Tannoy