BuildEast commission Lichfields to undertake research in the East of England
BuildEast has recently commissioned Lichfields, a planning and development consultancy, to undertake research in the East of England. Their specialists offer insight, innovative thinking and expert advice to create great places for future generations. They are at the forefront of market analysis and track government policy and legislation so they can offer a fresh viewpoint.
The purpose of the research is to provide intelligence on the housing need and planned affordable housing growth at a local level across the BuildEast geography, which includes Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Peterborough. BuildEast hopes that the research will provide insight into the capacity of its members and other players across its geography to meet planned affordable housing growth.
This research should provide answers to the following questions:
- What is the scale and distribution of planned housing growth in the Eastern Region? (BuildEast’s geography).
- How does housing growth support and facilitate proposals for regional economic growth?
- What are the implications for the delivery of affordable housing?
- What are the development opportunities in the East?
- What is the profile of sites to enable the planned growth to be delivered?
- What % of growth can be expected on small/medium/large sites?
- What does ‘levelling up’ mean for the East of England and how can housing growth support this ambition?
- What are the urban/rural/coastal dimensions of this?
Lichfields has launched a survey to key stakeholders to ascertain their views and will be presenting these at two half day workshops where it is hoped the debate will continue. The first workshop took place on Wednesday 25 May and the second will be held on Wednesday 8 June 2022.
Steve Woodcock, CEO of B3 Living, who is leading the project said: “This research will be invaluable to us all in the East who work to solve the housing crisis. We will have, once and for all, a definitive answer to our many questions around providing affordable housing in the East and our capabilities to meet central government targets.”
Matthew Spry, Senior Director at Lichfields said: “We are delighted to be BuildEast’s research partner for this important piece of work. The diverse geography of the East presents a mosaic of different housing issues but united by the shared challenge of the housing crisis. We intend to provide BuildEast’s members with a robust, evidential platform on which they can shape their future plans and investment.”
The final report will be due in September. If you would like to take part please contact [email protected] or [email protected].
BuildEast is an alliance of the 17 largest housing associations across the East of England. The members work collaboratively to provide collective insight and expertise to support communities to grow and thrive.