The North East has been promised £1.1 billion for social housing as part of the government’s ten-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP). Housing Secretary Steve Reed urged councils to “go big, go bold and go build.” It sounds impressive. But for residents waiting for a home, the reality is more complicated. While the North East Combined Authority (NECA) mayor and councils are meant to shape what gets built, final decisions remain with Homes England, a national body led by government appointments. On paper, this is devolution – in practice, it is largely superficial. NECA is responsible, but the levers of control remain in Whitehall.
Housing
Housing is a sector where the needs of place are obvious, and the case for a devolved housing strategy is overwhelming. The specific needs and challenges of place demand this. Across Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Northumberland, and the other NECA authorities, local circumstances differ widely: land availability, remediation costs, planning capacity, and workforce skills all affect what can be built.
Real local control matters because only councils and NECA know which sites are viable and ready to deliver, and true autonomy allows for fast, flexible responses to planning, remediation, or funding issues. It also enables councils to prioritise social rent, align housing with schools, transport, and community needs, and respond to local demand. Without it, the £1.1bn risks being headline funding rather than homes on the ground.
Depending on site type, the funding could deliver roughly 5,500 – 7,300 greenfield social rent homes (£150,000 – £200,000 per unit) or 3,700 – 4,400 brownfield homes requiring remediation (£250,000 – £300,000 per unit). Across the seven authorities, around 60,000 households are waiting for social housing. Even in the best-case scenario, this funding would meet only 12 – 13% of current demand.
Challenges and progress
Challenges include pipelines still in planning, tenure mix uncertainty, brownfield remediation costs, and infrastructure delays. Recently the Shadow Housing Secretary Sir James Cleverly highlighted the uncertainty: “Labour are refusing to say when the money to actually build the homes will be made available – and how much of it, if any, will be up for grabs before the next election.”
For the North East there has been important progress. NECA has established a Strategic Place Partnership with Homes England, improving regional coordination. The Brownfield Housing Fund supports remediation and site unlocking, and a pipeline of 25,000 potential homes shows ambition and planning. These steps are welcome.
But gaps remain. Homes England still controls final approvals, social rent delivery is not guaranteed, and many sites are years from completion.
True devolution is needed
To deliver real homes, NECA and government must go further. NECA should have real authority over funding and site allocation, remediation and land acquisition funds should be expanded for challenging brownfield sites, social rent should be prioritised with at least 60% of homes, transparent monitoring of progress, costs, and delivery should be introduced, and housing delivery must be linked to local infrastructure and workforce planning.
The £1.1 billion is a significant promise. But without true devolution – giving local authorities and NECA genuine control over decision-making, funding allocation, and tenure mix – the North East risks seeing headlines without homes. Housing is the clearest example of why place-based decision-making matters. Land, planning, remediation, and workforce conditions vary across the region. Only by empowering NECA and local councils with real tools and autonomy can this funding translate into the homes the North East desperately needs.
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