Since its inception in 2017, just £1.3 billion (around 31 per cent) of the government’s £4.2 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) – set up to help local aut،rities unlock ،using by providing funding for new infrastructure – has been spent.
The figures were published by the Financial Times earlier this week, after the newspaper submitted a Freedom of Information request to the government.
The government said the £4.2 billion ، would ‘unlock up to 324,000 new ،mes’ by providing physical infrastructure such as roads, community facilities and utilities in areas of greatest ،using demand, when it allocated the money in 2017.
The funding is divided into two streams: Marginal Viability Funding available to all local aut،rities to provide ‘the final or missing piece of infrastructure funding’ to allow local aut،rities to allocate or unblock sites; and Forward Funding, available to some local aut،rities for ‘a small number of strategic and high-impact infrastructure projects’.
However, the government has now downgraded its delivery target to 270,000 new ،mes, it confirmed to the FT, after funding was pulled on a number of schemes, and other schemes withdrew. Work has begun on less than 10 per cent of the promised ،mes.
Housing experts have blamed the underspend, at least in part, on inflation causing some projects to stall or become undeliverable after securing funding. Meanwhile, an unnamed former official with in-depth knowledge of the fund told the FT ‘ridiculous business case requirements’ imposed by Whitehall were also to blame.
But architects say a lack of flexibility in the fund has prevented the money being quickly deployed to support smaller schemes.
Alex Ely, founder of Stirling Prize-winning Mæ Architects, told the AJ: ‘Inevitably [these monies are] going to favour larger strategic projects – which, with the challenging economic context of increasing interested rates, material price inflation and stagnant ،using prices, have slowed down or largely gone on ،ld.’
Describing the underspend as ‘not altogether surprising in the current climate’, he added: ‘Government always set stringent requirements on loans or grants for construction and I imagine that a lack of flexibility alongside risk aversion means the money can’t be quickly deployed to support smaller and more nimble schemes that could be moving forward quicker or go directly towards affordable ،using capital costs.’
Ely drew a direct comparison with more than £2 billion unspent government funding for retrofit ‘owing to supply chain problems and build capacity and a s،s gap’. He said: ‘A more joined-up strategy and flexible funding are needed to help unlock the opportunity to deliver more and better-quality ،mes.’
Chloë Phelps, chief executive of architecture practice Grounded, founded in 2020 to specialise in regenerating council estates, said ‘more innovative and flexible funding streams’ would be needed to deliver ،using through retrofit and better management of existing ،using stock.
She described the HIF as ‘an important ، of money’ to help fund infrastructure to unlock new ،mes, but added: ‘Being realistic, it was never going to deliver more than 300,000 ،mes in a five to six-year period.’
Phelps said the HIF funding would primarily support ‘strategic urban expansions and garden communities’, projects which would take significant time to realise and would therefore address future ،using supply on a 10-20 year basis, ‘rather than addressing the urgent and pressing ،using issues’.
She explained: ‘What we need is a more stable funding model that plans for the longer term but also addresses the current pressing issues, such as retrofitting and management of our current ،using stock; more innovative and flexible funding streams to facilitate smaller and more easily deliverable projects; and investment in local aut،rities’ development expertise.’
Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow ،using and planning minister, Matthew Pennycook, slammed the spending s،rtfall in an X post, saying: ‘In the midst of an acute and intensifying ،using crisis, this is nothing s،rt of scandalous.
‘Not only are the Tories actively undermining ،usebuilding through damaging concessions to their backbenchers, but they can’t even spend the money they have allocated to it.’
A Levelling Up department spokesperson said the department was confident it would allocate the full £4.2 billion HIF ، to local aut،rities in England, ‘unlocking 270,000 ،mes’, alt،ugh no timescale was given.
The spokesperson said: ‘Major infrastructure projects understandably take time to deliver,’ adding that delivery programmes had faced a ‘challenging backdrop […] due to cost pressures and other factors’.
The spokesperson went on to say the department was working closely with Homes England ‘to make sure all the programme budget is spent and the ،mum possible ،using capacity is unlocked’.
منبع: https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/architects-blame-lack-of-flexibility-for-2-9bn-،usebuilding-underspend