It may seem like only yesterday, but Richard McCarthy has now been in charge of delivering John Prescott's vision of sustainable communities for six months. The former chair of the National Housing Federation and Peabody supremo started work as the ODPM's director general for sustainable communities in October and to the outside eye, he has spent much of the intervening time quietly settling in.
But, beneath the surface, he has been building his power base. With Genie Turton retiring at the start of this month, McCarthy picked up housing and planning to add to his regeneration portfolio. And now he's got it, how's he going to flaunt it?

According to the man himself, the task is to "balance supply and demand". So far, so New Labour-speak. On the demand side, we have the general public; on the supply side, housing associations, builders, planners, councils, private financiers and central government. However, the demand side is complicated by factors such as the type of housing required, its location, its price, the wider economy, the interest rate, position on the housing waiting list, individual credit rating … the list goes on. Kate Barker, of course, has investigated the supply side and called for an extra 143,000 homes each year – 23,000 of which would be social housing – at a cost of £16bn to the public purse. Ouch.

This is market failure on a grand scale and even the most ardent defenders of Adam Smith's "invisible hand of the market" would concede that the situation requires radical government intervention.

This is precisely what McCarthy wants to do. Although the ODPM has recently been reorganised into five distinct areas, the key ones for influencing housing supply are all in his sustainable communities directorate. At the heart of his empire is English Partnerships, which has made rapid strides down the new path outlined for it following the review in 2001.

Where once there was in-fighting and uncertainty, EP is now critical to the success of the Communities Plan

Where once there was bitter in-fighting and uncertainty, EP is now critical to the success of the Communities Plan. It is McCarthy's fixer.

Last week's announcement of a £400m deal with the NHS for 15,000 homes and the initiative to spend £150m on 15 London sites are just the start. In all but name, EP is acting as Whitehall's developer to ensure a guiding public hand on large new housing sites where demand is highest. Associations and councils would do well to take notice – this is where much of the action is going to be at. It's a bold move, particularly when faced with accusations that EP is overpaying for land and queering the private sector's pitch.

But with former private developer David Higgins at the helm, McCarthy's gamble could well pay off.

Source

Housing Today