Homes England, Legal & General and Muse have renewed their commitment to their English Cities Fund joint venture.
Under the agreement, the £200m jv will continue to deliver major regeneration schemes for a further 10 years, extending the partnership to 2036.
Homes England chief executive Peter Denton said: “Reconfirming our commitment to ECF marks a significant step forward as we mobilise our resources to deliver against the government’s levelling up agenda, creating vibrant new places, jobs, homes and opportunities across the country.”
The commitment will allow for an additional 6,600 homes to be built, along with 2m sq ft of innovation and commercial space, beginning with its schemes in Salford and St Helens.
The agreement will also allow ECF to reinvest its capital into new, long-term urban regeneration schemes that will support the levelling up agenda, creating places where businesses want to invest and people want to live and socialise.
Bill Hughes, head of LGIM Real Assets, said: “For 20 years the English Cities Fund partnership has been delivering disruptive regeneration – it is a major example of the impact and opportunity that come as a result of public and private sector collaboration. But, more work is needed to continue to level up our UK towns and cities. The extension of the English Cities Fund will play a key role in ensuring we truly level up and transform those areas most in need.”
Schemes in the pipeline include the £2.5bn, 240-acre scheme at Salford Crescent. The scheme, in partnership with Salford City Council and the University of Salford, will deliver more than 3,000 homes, alongside up to 1m sq ft of space to innovate and collaborate, 1m sq ft of offices, retail, leisure and a new multi-modal transport hub.
A catalytic infrastructure and public-realm project, Salford Rise, which received £13.17m from the first tranche of levelling up funding, will deliver a green boulevard in the sky that stretches over Fredrick Road to connect communities across the city to the opportunities the regeneration will create.
The agreement will also allow ECF to continue work on the borough-wide transformation of St Helens, starting in the town centres of Earlestown and St Helens itself, where ECF has partnered with St Helens Borough Council. In February 2022, the council signed off on the masterplan development frameworks, prior to a planning application later this year.
Together the schemes will deliver more than 4,000 of the 6,600 new homes planned.
Other locations are now being actively assessed.
Hughes added: “As we extend the fund we are confident that we will have more opportunities to deliver urban developments which show real imagination, and unlock value for our partners and their communities.”
Sir Michael Lyons, chair of the ECF, said: “Our towns and cities are the engine rooms of our economy. By bringing together the investment and regeneration skills of Homes England, Legal & General and Muse Developments, we are uniquely equipped to help in reshaping and strengthening local economies. Our ability to work at pace but with focus on long-term impact makes us an outstanding partner for ambitious communities.”
Denton added that the fund was essential to deliver schemes that the private sector would not be able to take forward. “The English Cities Fund has a track record of successfully taking on challenging schemes that the private sector alone has not been able to deliver,” he said. “Bringing together the best of the public and private sector, it has set the benchmark for what good regeneration looks like.”
Kate Bowyer, managing director of Muse Developments, said: “Since 2001, ECF has been critical in delivering levelling up projects in towns and cities in need, driving tangible, generational benefits to all areas of a community.”
To date, the ECF has started 2,270 homes, 1,801 of which have been completed, with a further 1,800 starts expected by 2026. It has also delivered more than 1m sq ft of commercial, retail and leisure space.
Housing minister Stuart Andrew welcomed the commitment, adding: “Regenerating urban areas and transforming brownfield sites into thriving communities is integral to levelling up the country. Through the English Cities Fund, the public and private sector are working hand in hand to create high-quality new homes and jobs in areas that need them most.”
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