Key housing schemes could sink under weight of initiatives, claims report

The report claims the complex and overlapping nature of major initiatives, such as the market renewal pathfinders and the Thames Gateway growth area, is putting too much of a strain on the local bodies carrying out their delivery.

The report, People, Places and Prosperity, said local bodies, including councils, were suffering from a "Humpty Dumpty effect" – being left to "put the pieces back together" of national policies that "fractured" when they "hit the ground" at local level.

A senior manager in one of the main bodies involved in the Thames Gateway backed the finding that progress has been hampered by complicated funding arrangements and working arrangements.

"The complexity is hurting accountability because nobody is quite sure who's responsible for what. It's creating too much uncertainty," he said.

The complexity is hurting accountability – nobody is quite sure who’s responsible for what

Senior manager, Thames Gateway

A telephone survey of local and regional stakeholders in the Thames Gateway, carried out as part of the report, found that one third of local leaders are not convinced there is capacity to deliver the government's plan, despite the £446m in public funding committed to it over the next three years.

The report also found that the poor alignment of national and local priorities could jeopardise the long-term viability of large-scale projects, such as the pathfinders.

The fact that four of the nine pathfinders are in the North-west meant there was a possibility of "continued over-supply of houses" in the region.