Jilted RSLs set to bid for funds under grant to developers pilot

Two high-profile housing associations that missed out on one of 70 lucrative partnership contracts with the Housing Corporation are considering bidding under the government’s new £200m pilot investment programme to pay social housing grant to private developers.

A number of high-performing arm’s-length management organisations also indicated to Housing Today that they are interested in accessing funds via the pilot the corporation hopes will result in 400 to 500 homes.

Housebuilders David Wilson Homes, Taylor Woodrow and Crest Nicholson have also said they would be interested in the scheme after the corporation launched its 20-page consultation on the proposals last Friday.

We are taking it very seriously. We will give serious consideration to putting a substantial portfolio in for the corporation's consideration

Terry Fuller, partnership director, Taylor Woodrow

Ingrid Reynolds, group director of property and new business for Notting Hill – which missed out on a place in the corporation’s elite group of long-term development funding partners after damning inspection reports from the Audit Commission – said: “We will consider seriously competing for grant once we have considered the proposals. Overall, our main reasons for bidding would be to bring forward opportunities that we have now that could be put into the programme. Otherwise we would be bidding in September 2005 at the earliest.”

Michael May, property director at Peabody Trust, which revealed in October it will have to sell up to 1100 homes to raise the £212m it needs to meet the decent homes target by 2010, said: “Partnership with private developers may be a possibility for future projects, opening up schemes for new homes that may otherwise have been difficult to take forward.”

Choice is a good thing. Why not give people more choice of high-quality new properties? It would be wrong not to at least have a look [at the consultation]

Hugh Broadbent, chief executive, First Choice Homes

The £200m pilot – details of which were revealed last month in Housing Today – will be launched in February, with comments on the consultation due by 11 January.

The National Housing Federation has reiterated its concerns over ensuring that the use of accreditation contracts for non-RSLs results in a level playing field between private firms and housing associations.

We welcome this. Partnership with private developers may be a possibility for future projects, opening up schemes for new homes that may otherwise have been difficult to take forward

Michael May, property director, Peabody Trust

Mark Lupton, policy analyst at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said this was the “beginning of the end for housing

associations’ monopoly on managing and maintaining stock”.

Colin Smith, managerial director for Crest Partnership Homes, said: “We will be looking to bid strategically with housing association partners and local authorities.”