Tees Valley Housing Partnership launches to boost the delivery of affordable homes [Archived]

The Tees Valley Housing Partnership (TVHP) aims to pool members’ knowledge and expertise, attract funding and investment, and deliver better outcomes for local people.

Collectively, the partnership’s 14 members provide more than 52,000 homes across Tees Valley, which is 18% of all homes.

Its formation comes at a time when there are around 13,000 households on waiting lists for social housing in the area.

Matt Forrest, chair of the TVHP, said: “Recent long-term funding commitments from government give us a once in a generation opportunity to ramp up the delivery of much-needed quality new homes over the next decade.

“Our members already have plans to deliver 3,500 new homes in the next five years. But we want to do more. We’re seeing new build homes attract up to 200 applications each and we want to close the gap between supply and demand as quickly as possible.

“The best way to achieve that is by working together. One of our first pieces of work will be to produce a shared strategic pipeline of housing projects to make sure we build the right homes in the right places.”

Along with boosting the delivery of affordable homes, the partnership will focus on improving health outcomes and supporting inclusive economic growth.

James Walder, vice-chair of the TVHP, said: “Tees Valley suffers from some of the worst health inequalities in the country. In some areas, the gap in life expectancy between the most and least deprived neighbourhoods is more than 17 years.

“We’re looking to join up the delivery of housing, care and support services for older people and residents with complex needs and work closely with local authorities to tackle homelessness and the over reliance on temporary accommodation.

“We’re also well-placed to support the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s plans to drive inclusive economic growth that benefits all, tackles inequality, and creates opportunities for everyone in our region.”

The TVHP consists of housing associations Accent, Bernicia, Beyond Housing, Home Group, Karbon Homes, North Star Housing Group, Railway Housing Association and Thirteen Group.

Its boundaries mirror those of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, which is also a member, along with Darlington Borough Council, Hartlepool Borough Council, Middlesbrough Council, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.

The TVHP will work closely with Homes England and other partners such as the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board.

Follow the Tees Valley Housing Partnership on LinkedIn for updates.