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What is the cost of all the infrastructure needed to support the government’s housing growth plans?

The costs in the South-east add up to £45bn, according to a report published late last year by economist Roger Tym and Partners. Last month it produced a follow-up report detailing where the money will go and where the potential shortfalls are.

So where does the money need to be spent?

The two most significant costs are transport (£21.7bn) and affordable housing (£24.4bn). But there are 20 more items of infrastructure that are clamouring for large sums of money. For example, providing enough private and public sector nursery school spaces for all the children growing up in the new homes in the South-east will cost almost £150m. The estimated bill for community centres is £679m, sports centres £290m and libraries £83m. Provision of new cemeteries is expected to cost £67m.

Where will the money come from?

From a variety of public and private funding streams: the Housing Corporation, government departments, housing association borrowings and Section 106 contributions from developers.

Can they provide enough money to pay for what’s needed?

No. The report estimates that there will be a shortfall in funding of about £8bn, which breaks down to £1.9bn for the South-east and £6bn for the Eastern counties.

What level of housing growth is the study based on?

It’s based on housing growth of 28,000 homes a year in the South-east between 2001 and 2026 and 12,975 homes a year in the Eastern counties from 2001 to 2021. That makes 959,500 new homes in all.

What happens now?

The South East County Leaders are using the latest report, called The costs and funding of growth in South-east England, to try to convince the government that growth plans must be linked to funding strategies. A cross-Whitehall group has been set up to debate the issues. The South East of England Regional Assembly plenary on 13 July will make the final decision on overall housing growth numbers for the region (see feature, page 22).