A new initiative to help councils scale up housebuilding in their areas was launched by the Deputy Prime Minister at the LGA’s annual conference in early July.
The Council Housebuilding Support Service (CHoSS) will be administered by the LGA and is funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Councils will receive fully funded, tailored support to establish, enhance or accelerate their council housing programmes.
Ten councils have been selected as ‘vanguards’ to co-design the service in its early phase. These include five with housing revenue accounts (Cornwall, Eastbourne, Newcastle, Salford, and Southampton) and five without (Merton, Reigate and Banstead, Rother, Stockton-on-Tees, and Wirral).
The vanguard councils will receive bespoke support shaped around their specific local context, including expert advice, peer learning, practical tools and strategic input.
The CHoSS offer will be refined with this vanguard group over the summer, before being made available to all councils later in the year. Councils are invited to register their interest online (see www.local.gov.uk/our-support/council-housebuilding-support-service).
Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the LGA, said: “This new programme comes at a critical time for local government.
“Councils want to do more to deliver the council houses their communities need, and this initiative will give them the tools, advice and support to do just that.”
CHoSS forms part of the Government’s wider ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes during this Parliament, with a strong focus on quality and affordability.