The Homes and Communities Agency: Supporting Communities through tougher times

1. The Homes and Communities Agency:Supporting Communities through tougher times Sir Bob Kerslake Chief Executive, HCA

2. Our Vision To create opportunity: • For people to live in homes they can afford in places they want to live • For local authorities and communities to deliver the ambition they have for their own areas A national agency that works locally

3. Our Tasks Support the delivery of new homes Secure the delivery of affordable homes Accelerate regeneration of under-performing towns and cities Improve the quality of existing stock and transform deprived neighbourhoods Ensure delivery is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable with good design Homes and Communities

4. The HCA in London ‘Live’ from December 1st Three teams: former Housing Corp investment team; English Partnerships; CLG London Thames Gateway (due to transfer early new year) Three locations (Maple House/Harbour Exchange/Buckingham Palace Road) HCA Board – Chaired by Mayor, early priority of responding to the downturn

5. The HCA in London – Funding 2008-11 Total c£5bn Excludes PFI credits

6. The HCA in London – Short term priorities Deliver current programme against challenging final quarter conditions – to April 09 Audit of current projects and strategic sites – to Feb 09 Assess new business models – immediate and ongoing Develop collaboration with LDA – to Feb 09 Preparing for ‘single conversation’ – April 09 onwards

7. The HCA in London – Delivering current programme First half year performance of NAHP has held up well, but a back-loaded programme with increasing pressures September flexibilities over grant and intermediate rent are helpful New approach to strategic, portfolio packages from registered partners that can mix equity with grant Homebuy Direct and Clearing House proposals in London Former EP land and regeneration programme facing difficult market conditions Targeted Funding Stream partly committed

8. The HCA in London – Collaboration with LDA Aiming for a joint investment plan and operating protocol to cover land and infrastructure programme Two successful workshop sessions with HCA/LDA senior management teams Joint research, intelligence and data capacity More work to do to tie in inward investment, skills and business growth programmes

9. The HCA in London – Borough liaison and ‘single conversation’ ‘Single conversation’ at the heart of HCA’s new business model Moving from project and programme to tailored ‘place-based’ investment Initial visits to all 32 boroughs by end January 2009 Very positive feedback so far Will begin structured ‘single conversation’ dialogue in early 2009 Early priorities to include 5 Olympic legacy boroughs (working towards a Multi-Area Agreement); Croydon; other boroughs with key strategic capacity or sites Links to LDA and TfL: possibility of a ‘unified single conversation’ for London

10. North London and the HCA • HCA support using existing structures to realise the huge potential: • Upper Lea Valley – Enabling the build out of a string of master plans along the southern LSCP to provide thousands homes and jobs close to parks and waterways. • Barnet / Brent and London – Luton corridor: Rebuilding communities and creating huge new urban centres. Regeneration of town centres: Walthamstow, Wood Green, Enfield Town, New Southgate, Dalston, Hackney Central. • Hackney – Housing regeneration, Olympic fringe and the East London Line corridor • Islington – Enabling new sites throughout the borough • Redbridge – Advancing Ilford and the Crossrail corridor

11. North London Development and Investment Framework – Achievements • Cross borough relationships established to develop single conversations • Providing an investment context for Boroughs programmes of development • Identifying priority sites and projects to unlock 50% of housing growth in the sub region • Successful coordination of Growth Funding Round 3 between NLSA, GLA Group and Boroughs • Promotion of place shaping agenda developing political support • Ongoing programme of work for inward investment • Brownfield Land review to develop strategy for smaller sites

12. How We Will Help – New business models • Large number of ideas and ‘offers’ • Wide scope of possible interventions • Models that are dependent on sales risk are difficult to make viable in short term • Keen to support new build as well as selective acquisitions • Intermediate rent and rent-to-buy models look potentially viable • ‘Stepping Stones’: a new common-ownership model • Joint work with LDA • London in a leading position for new initiatives • New Continuous Market Engagement initiative for portfolio investments • Weekly engagement with CLG

13. Conclusion • NLDIF has achieved a lot already • Challenging times to come, but you are ahead of the game • It is essential to hold on to the long term vision • Realism and adaptability in the short term is essential, but the commitment to quality must not be lost • HCA will support key regeneration projects • Where development cannot be progressed, there is good preparatory work to be done • HCA will provide active support and constructive challenge