Landing BBC's MasterChef at Warwick Bar in the heart of Birmingham
The regeneration of Digbeth is one of the agency's first actions to deliver on the Levelling Up agenda.
Picture: Lensi Photography
Homes England agreed a deal with development firm Digbeth Loc to move BBC's MasterChef production studios to its Warwick Bar site in 2024.
Homes England assembled Warwick Bar - a collection of brownfield sites around Digbeth - to catalyse the regeneration of Digbeth. The regeneration of the wider Warwick Bar site has scope to deliver 1,000 new homes and 270,000 sq. ft of employment or educational floor space.
Under the agreement, Homes England has leased part of its land at Fazeley Street to Digbeth Loc who have developed proposals for a mixed-used creative scheme, starting with the Digbeth Loc Studios which will open in June 2023 and the MasterChef production hub which opens in 2024.
The regeneration of Warwick Bar will have a transformational impact on central Birmingham and the wider economy.
Infrastructure loan funding bringing east London docklands back to life
Through a £233m infrastructure loan, Homes England is collaborating with public and private sector partners to regenerate one of the largest brownfield sites in London's historic docklands.
The Silvertown site in Newham has been derelict for the last 40 years and is one of the largest brownfield sites in London's historic docklands
The major regeneration project will include improvements to the infrastructure around the site and will support The Silvertown Partnership (TSP) to build 6,000 new homes and support the creation of next-generation business workspace, new space for cultural and community events and a vibrant new town centre for the Royal Docks.
Homes England will provide loan financing to help tackle high up-front infrastructure costs, which includes investment for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge across Royal Victoria Dock, the restoration of the iconic Millennium Mills and the repair of the dock walls, which have previously been a barrier to development of the scheme.
Attracting institutional capital to support SME housebuilding
Homes England and Newstead Capital have joined forces to support SME housebuilders by launching an innovative long-term development finance fund.
Alongside Greater Manchester Pension Fund, clients of listed wealth manager Mattioli Woods and other private institutional investors, have committed £80m to the Initial Close of the Newstead SME Real Estate Lending Fund (RELF).
By empowering smaller regional housebuilders, the Fund will help to encourage the creation of sympathetic and environmentally responsible projects while supporting the regional SME house building sector and boosting regional job creation.
The Fund is to be managed by specialist fund manager Newstead Capital and the intention is to grow the fund to £300m in subsequent capital raised and deliver £1bn of funding over the Fund's lifetime.
Supporting new investment in affordable housing
Long-term institutional investment in affordable housing can help meet the needs of communities across the country.
An innovative long term partnership model developed by Homes England, leading housing association Hyde and investment manager AXA IM Alts has been established, with an aim to deliver thousands of new affordable homes of all tenures across the southeast.
The model, which includes the creation of a new development vehicle and the establishment of a for-profit housing provider called Halesworth, offers an innovative new way of bringing more responsible capital into the housing sector and delivering new affordable homes that might not otherwise have been possible.
Homes England's investment into this new development vehicle is a commitment to encouraging institutional investment into affordable housing, helping to increase the supply of good quality homes in areas of high unaffordability.
The partnership will also enable local SME developers to deliver the schemes, meeting one of the Agency's key objectives.
Homes England, Muse and Legal & General recommit to The English Cities Fund
The £200m joint venture will continue to deliver transformational regeneration schemes, including 6,600 new homes and 2m sq. ft of innovation and commercial space.
Homes England, Legal & General and Muse Developments, last year reconfirmed their commitment to their long-standing partnership, The English Cities Fund (ECF), for a further ten years to December 2036.
This commitment will allow for an additional 6,600 homes to be built and enable it to reinvest its capital into new, long-term urban regeneration schemes that will support the regeneration of towns and cities, creating places where businesses want to invest, and people want to live and socialise.
To date, ECF has generated 20,000 jobs, built 4,500 sustainable homes and generated £400m in GVA per annum to build strong communities.
