London's largest developing housing associations are to fight back against government efforts to pay development grant to private housebuilders, writes Mark Beveridge.
At a meeting of the G15 – the 15 largest London associations – before the Chartered Institute of Housing conference in Harrogate last week, it was decided that members would try to muscle in on areas that have traditionally been the preserve of mainstream developers.

This would mean associations such as Hyde and New Islington & Hackney would take on greater risk as the leading developer on schemes that were not just social housing. Home Housing Association and Places for People Group have moved in this direction over recent years.

Projects of this type include boosting the number of homes for private rent and sale on sites to make up for any downturn in funding from the Housing Corporation.

But the G15 – whose members between them built more than 15,000 homes in 2002 – hope this "aggressive stance" will discourage the government from splitting the Housing Corporation's investment budget – £1.4bn this year – between associations and the private sector.

Brendan Sarsfield, chief executive of New Islington & Hackney, said associations would have to diversify development work. "If we lose control over products like shared housing, we will have to develop other products to enable us to cross-subsidise. That will probably mean more housing for sale."

Richard McCarthy, chief executive of the Peabody Trust, another G15 member, said developers should not see associations as a threat. "The amount of private housing developed at present is small by the standards of developers. But we do have a real role to play in creating a more diverse range of housing and catering for the needs of certain areas."

However, housing associations do fear that, should the changes be brought in, private developers will be placed under a lighter regulatory regime.

The National Housing Federation last week submitted a response to the Housing Corporation's consultation, which closed on Monday. It said: "Any changes to the regulatory environment to permit further competition must apply equally to housing associations."

One G15 chief executive said any attempt to place private developers under a lighter regulatory burden than housing associations would lead to calls for the entire regulatory regime to be overhauled.

He added that the sector would be outraged if private developers, who "don't generally have a good record in promoting mixed-tenure", were given freedoms denied to associations.

Source

Housing Today