Housing at front of UK government's 'fairness' agenda, says expert

Theresa May's closing speech at the Conservative Party conference may not have contained any new messages, but was welcome as it showed her "putting down a marker that the government will not be afraid to step up" whether on housing policy, or the infrastructure necessary to support it, according to housing and planning expert Mike Pocock of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.

Pocock said that May's speech "continued the message of the previous regime in setting out a vision to speed up housebuilding, maximise affordable housing and make greater use of public land".

"Clearly, if she is to achieve her vision of fixing the housing conundrum it will require bold decision making, and this might not be to the liking of all," he said. "Time will tell whether this rhetoric converts into a resurgence in house building and, by doing so, helps solve some of the economic and social problems caused by the housing shortage."

Previously at the conference, communities secretary Sajid Javid and chancellor Philip Hammond announced the creation of a £3 billion Home Building Fund with immediate effect. The fund brings together a number of previously-announced funding streams for administration by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), and incorporates £1bn for house builders and £2bn for providers of infrastructure that will speed up development.

The Home Building Fund is open to private sector organisations for developments with at least five homes, or infrastructure projects that "ultimately lead to the development of new housing". At the point at which the loan offer is made, the developer will usually be expected to have a controlling interest in the land and a "clear route" to achieving planning consent for the planned project, according to explanatory notes published by the HCA.

The government is also borrowing £2bn to fund an 'Accelerated Construction' project, through which it will team up with smaller and innovative developers to explore different models for building on surplus public land; and bringing forward changes to the planning system to "encourage urban regeneration" and "radically increase brownfield development". Further measures will be included in a Housing White Paper, to be published later this year.

Closing the conference, May said that her government would put "restoring fairness ... at the heart of everything we do…that means acting to tackle some of the economy's structural problems that hold people back," she said.

"Things like the shortage of affordable homes. The need to make big decisions on - and invest in - our infrastructure. The need to rebalance the economy across sectors and areas in order to spread wealth and prosperity around the country. Politicians have talked about this for years. But the trouble is that this kind of change will never just happen by itself," she said.