The man charged with spearheading the revival of the North of England has warned housing associations and developers to ensure the Northern Way isn’t “held back by housing stock that is continually being outmoded”.

In his first interview since taking the job of director of implementation for the Northern Way in February, Vince Taylor said registered social landlords and builders must look more closely at how the region’s housing needs are likely to change in decades to come, in order to avoid a repeat of current low-demand problems.

The Northern Way – launched last February as the Northern answer to the Communities Plan – aims to close the £29bn productivity gap between the North and the South of the country.

Taylor said: “We could be on the brink of a housing revolution over the next 20 years. I want to open up discussions with housing associations and developers about what their thinking is on this and how we must approach it to make sure that the Northern Way isn’t held back by housing stock that is continually being outmoded.”

Source

Housing Today

Postscript

The North-east regional housing board is organising a Northern Way conference, bringing the three Northern regions together. The event will discuss how providers will deal with increased rates of demolition and replacement. The conference is due to take place in June.