A major new government initiative designed to speed up regeneration projects and create investment opportunities is being piloted in Liverpool.
This October, Liverpool City Region became the first mayoral authority in England to sign a Place Delivery Agreement (PDA) with Homes England and the National Housing Bank.
By bringing together public investment, development finance and infrastructure planning, the initiative aims to make schemes commercially viable that have previously struggled to get off the ground.
This could mean more housing and commercial developments in Liverpool, with faster construction and the regeneration of neighbourhoods that have previously attracted little private investment.
How will it work?
The PDA is part of the government’s wider devolution programme, with Homes England, the government’s housing and regeneration agency, leading its introduction nationally.
Under the new system, Homes England and mayoral authorities will establish Joint Delivery Units (JDUs), bringing together specialists from both organisations and the National Housing Bank, Homes England’s financing subsidiary.
The mayoral authorities will first identify priority projects. Homes England will then provide expertise in land acquisition, planning and infrastructure, while the National Housing Bank will examine opportunities to provide loans, equity investment and guarantees.
The aim is to overcome the types of problems that individual developers cannot easily resolve on their own.
Brownfield sites are especially problematic, as land ownership on them is often fragmented, former industrial land can require expensive clearance work, and new roads, drainage and utilities may be needed before construction begins. These upfront costs can make otherwise promising developments financially unviable.
The units will bring these elements together, providing developers with a coordinated route to public funding, specialist support and potential private investment.
They will draw up a delivery plan identifying priority projects, funding requirements, responsibilities and timetables, with progress monitored through regular meetings and reporting to the mayor.
Liverpool’s first projects
In Liverpool, Homes England and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will jointly lead the JDU.
Their existing partnership, established in 2024, has already helped unlock more than £220m in investment and capacity for over 3,400 homes.
The first major test will be at Liverpool’s North Docks, where the new agreement aims to accelerate the next phases of a multi-billion-pound waterfront regeneration that includes Peel Waters’ £5bn Liverpool Waters development, as well as around 17,000 new homes.
In September, the Combined Authority backed plans to establish a Mayoral Development Corporation to oversee the North Docks regeneration, although government approval is still required.
Mayor Steve Rotheram says the project has, though, been held back by “the sheer complexity of getting so many different sites, landowners, bits of infrastructure and investment moving in the same direction.”
Under the new agreement, the Joint Delivery Unit will support the proposed corporation by coordinating land assembly, public funding for infrastructure and potential National Housing Bank finance to make further development sites commercially viable.
The second priority is the proposed £5bn Central Station Gateway transformation, covering 86 acres around Liverpool Central station and potentially delivering 4,300 homes, commercial space and improved transport connections.
The challenge here is coordinating the station redevelopment with surrounding residential and commercial projects.
With the scheme still at the masterplanning and business-case stage, the JDU will bring together transport, planning and finance specialists to agree infrastructure requirements, coordinate development timetables and assemble investment proposals.
This could enable residential and commercial developments around the station to progress alongside the transport improvements.
The unit will also work with councils and developers on regeneration opportunities throughout the six Liverpool City Region authorities, including Wirral Left Bank and other town-centre and brownfield sites.
It will develop a wider pipeline of projects to attract private and institutional investment and help coordinate the city region’s indicative £700m allocation for social and affordable housing.
A model for other regions
If the Liverpool pilot succeeds in bringing forward complex developments more quickly, Homes England intends to introduce similar agreements with other mayoral authorities. The resulting rollout would then create country-wide opportunities for both developers and property investors.
