West Yorkshire lines up £335m housing fund to unlock 4,000 homes
The Combined Authority is set to launch the programme at its AGM this week, aimed at unlocking major development sites, bringing forward stalled schemes, and accelerating housing delivery across the region.
The report due to be considered by WYCA recommends the creation of a new West Yorkshire Housing Investment Fund, bringing together multiple housing funding streams devolved through the government’s Integrated Settlement into a single investment programme.
The fund will be used to unlock land for development, support schemes that have stalled due to viability challenges and provide targeted interventions where housing would not otherwise be delivered without public sector investment.
Under current targets agreed with central government, the programme is expected to unlock 2,275 homes, support the start on site of a further 1,427 homes, and enable the completion of 247 homes by March 2029.
However, Combined Authority officials say those figures represent only the baseline outcomes attached to the initial National Housing Delivery Fund allocation and are expected to increase through ongoing negotiations with government over additional housing funding streams.
The authority’s longer-term ambition is for the programme to help unlock more than 4,000 homes across West Yorkshire through the full deployment of its £189m National Housing Delivery Fund allocation, with delivery continuing well beyond 2029.
An indicative pipeline of projects has already been developed in partnership with local authorities, although details of individual schemes have yet to be published.
The report states that the programme is being established at pace to ensure the region maximises the opportunities presented by the Integrated Settlement while demonstrating to investors that West Yorkshire is “a place to invest”.
It also notes the timescales attached to Integrated Settlement housing targets are “very tight”, with agile decision-making required to maintain developer confidence and secure external investment.
Under the proposals, the Combined Authority would approve the programme business case and endorse potential investment of up to £334.62m. A further £10m would be released immediately to support project development activities and the preparation of individual business cases for future schemes.
To accelerate delivery, authority leaders are also being asked to approve delegated powers allowing the Combined Authority’s chief executive to sign off individual project business cases worth up to £20m.
The programme will comprise both capital and revenue funding streams, although the majority of investment will be delivered through the capital programme.
Alongside the main fund, the authority is seeking approval for a £5.5m Housing Enabler Fund designed to support housing policy work, project pipeline development, and delivery activity. The Combined Authority is also proposing to convert a further £4.6m of capital funding into revenue funding between 2027 and 2030, taking total revenue conversion under the programme to £7.5m.
The Integrated Settlement allows up to 10% of National Housing Delivery Fund allocations to be switched from capital to revenue spending, providing greater flexibility to address local delivery challenges and support housing projects through the planning, viability, and development process.
Future schemes funded through the programme will progress through the Combined Authority’s assurance framework and require individual business case approvals before funding is released.
If approved, the West Yorkshire Housing Investment Fund would become one of the region’s most significant housing delivery vehicles, providing developers and local authorities with access to funding intended to unlock complex sites and accelerate the delivery of thousands of new homes over the coming decade.
