adminCANNES. — UK officials turned up in force at the property industry’s annual jamboree in the south of France this year as the government looked to entice developers into building more homes.
The Mipim conference in Cannes has always drawn tycoons keen to party on lavish yachts, but in recent years public sector bodies have jetted in too, hoping to attract investment and meet property companies.
This year Homes England, formerly known as the Homes and Communities Agency, occupied a government marquee with representatives from the Department for Homes, Communities and Local Government and the British Property Federation, the UK’s trade body for developers.
“We’re here to present a united front,” said Melanie Leech, chief executive officer of the BPF.
“Nothing much will happen unless the private and public sector align.”
Britain is estimated to
need some 300 000 new homes annually to meet demand, and the UK authorities and developers have in the past blamed each other for failing to solve the housing crisis.
Property developers have accused local governments of having slow and inefficient planning systems and councils have told developers that they should build more quickly on sites with planning permission.
(The property industry) is the industry we need to understand — but not be supplicant to Nick Walkley, Homes England.
However, in the south of France, the differences appeared to have been forgotten.
Scattered among the corporate-sponsored tents and yachts at Mipim were UK regions and counties, represented by “metro mayors” — such as Andy Street from the West Midlands — and council chief executives.
“The regions have grown their presence through regeneration — they come here to court investment, definitely,” said Ms Leech.
“Most of our regions need investment.”
Nick Walkley, the chief executive officer of Homes England, used the conference to set out plans to help local authorities and developers with land assembly and finance, as well as offering temporary planning and construction staff.
British officials court investment for much-needed new homes
In last November’s budget, the agency was given an extra £2,7 billion for a housing infrastructure fund and just over £1 billion for a new land assembly fund to
help it unlock new development sites.
“We’re at Mipim because we think (the property industry) is the industry we need to understand — but not be supplicant to,” said Mr Walkley, who is the former chief executive of Haringey Council in north London.
In joint panels at the conference, local authorities were broadly receptive to working with Homes England, with some acknowledging that its powers to forcibly buy land from owners could help councils parcel together sites for building more efficiently.
Joanne Roney, chief executive officer of Manchester City Council, called on the body to use these powers in a “more robust” way, adding that she wanted more “long term, strategic partnerships” with the housing body.
The government has previously criticised local authorities for failing to allow sufficient development. Pat Ritchie, chief executive of Newcastle Council, urged the regulator and government to “trust councils to deliver”.
The councils, developers and consultants also discussed how to address the growing controversy surrounding regeneration.
Earlier this year, an ambitious £4 billion joint project between Haringey and Lendlease, the Australian developer, was derailed by local political resistance.
Many London boroughs, where private developers are facing a growing political and public backlash against the lack of affordable housing in new developments, stayed away from Mipim this year, ahead of local government elections in May.
Chris Grigg, the chief executive office of British Land, the UK’s second largest listed property company, said that while doing business with councils was getting easier and relationships were often “excellent”, regeneration of existing housing is harder”.
Others agreed.
“I think the quality of the conversations between developers and local authorities has never been better,” said Ms Leech.
“The challenge is that there’s an uncertain and unsettled court of public opinion. The conversation with the public can become quite toxic.” — Financial Times.
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