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The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has received 132 completed submissions from a range of construction and development companies, to the Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire (PQQ) for a panel being set up to develop its sites, which can also be used by Local Authority partners for developing their land.

The Delivery Partner Panel framework will exist for three years and be split into three regional clusters - Northern, Central and Southern panel - each with 6 to 12 members. Panel members will cover the full range of development activity including but not limited to, the raising and/or deployment of development/construction finance, the design and construction of residential and other buildings (including infrastructure), and the sales/lettings and marketing of properties. Panel members will be responsible for securing sales of completed homes either themselves or by working with partner organisations.

The majority of the submissions were made by construction and developer companies with around a fifth of submissions from RSLs, and a small number from a mix of consultancies and other organisations. The bids are now being assessed by the HCA and an invitation to tender is expected to be issued at the end of September, to the shortlisted organisations. There will be up to 20 firms shortlisted for each panel. Of the bids received, 29 per cent expressed an interest in all three regional clusters, 45 per cent expressed an interest in two and 45 per cent had a preference for one regional cluster only.

Bob Kerslake, chief executive at the Homes and Communities Agency said: “In the current climate it is crucial that we have a range of players on the pitch to deliver much needed new homes at an affordable price in places that people want to live. The extremely high response we have had to the PQQ shows that there is real appetite out there, and the interesting proposals we have seen show that partners are thinking creatively about this.”

Once appointed to the panel in late November, members will have the opportunity to work on the national housing and regeneration agency’s projects including a range of regional schemes and the Public Land Initiative, which was announced as part of the government’s Housing Pledge in June. The initiative aims to bring publicly owned housing sites forward using a different approach to procurement and delivery. Rather than sell land outright to developers, public land owners would make their land available on a ‘deferred payment’ basis.

Partners will be selected from the delivery partner panel and the PLI sites will be briefed to meet specific standards, including Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, Building for Life and minimum space requirements. The land will be disposed of through an agreement based upon a joint venture model, that will take account of the value of the land invested, shared risk and returns, and available grant for social housing. The completed homes could then be transferred to a Registered Social Landlord (RSL), to Private Rental Sector Initiative partners, or sold on the open market to individuals.

So far around thirty Local Authorities have expressed interest in becoming involved with the Public Land Initiative. The HCA will be hosting a workshop in Birmingham on 16 October where all interested Local Authorities and Regional Development Agencies are invited to attend to learn more about how the Initiative will work in practice.

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For further information please contact: Gemma Bird, HCA press office on 020 7881 1054 or email gemma.bird@hca.gsx.gov.uk

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is the single, national housing and regeneration agency for England. Its vision is about creating opportunity for people to live in homes they can afford, in places they want to live and for local authorities and communities to deliver the ambition they have for their own areas. The HCA brings together English Partnerships, investment functions of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities, with major delivery programmes of Communities and Local Government.

The Public Land Initiative delivery targets are 1,250 homes in the next three years, of which 500 are to be affordable. The government’s Housing Pledge included £53.75m for this Initiative, which will be used by the HCA to build the tools and processes needed to establish this as a new alternative mechanism for creating new homes. Read more about the Public Land Initiative.

The Public Land Initiative workshop will be held at The Studio, 7 Cannon Street, Birmingham, B2 5EP between 11.00 and 13.00. Any Local Authorities and Regional Development Agencies wishing to attend the event should email PLI@hca.gsx.gov.uk to register their interest.

The Delivery Partner Panel may be used to secure the expertise of other members in comprehensive development management across the following areas, which may be drawn down independently to works elements - project and programme management, brokering finance and funding, land and planning, de