Building the Future: Accelerating Housing Delivery in the South East

Author: Localis & South East LEP   |   14/07/2014

Building the Future: Accelerating Housing Delivery in the South East

Localis today publishes a report with the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) which considers the barriers and solutions to housing growth as proposed in the South East LEP Growth Deal to Government. It welcomes the Growth Deal and looks at how it can be taken further. It lays the foundation for a new relationship between public and private investment and delivery to realise in a much more flexible and responsive way the homes, skills and jobs we so urgently need in the South East.

With the disconnect between supply and demand, pressure has been building, leading to what has been described by politicians across the political spectrum as a national housing ‘crisis’, with a cumulative shortfall of 1.3 million homes over the past decade alone. The pressure is especially acute in the South East, where the demand for housing is the greatest.

In this context, it’s both useful and interesting to see a LEP leading from the front on this issue. Through articulating these aspirations, the South East LEP is belying the simplistic ‘not in my back yard’ image of local politicians that is often portrayed, and are instead putting forward lots of positive ideas to help deliver meaningful change. We believe that these are interesting ideas that could not only help ensure that local communities in the South East get the housing they need, but many of which could be beneficially applied across the country.