Four metro mayors have written directly to prime minister Theresa May to protest about being sidelined in the Government’s latest housing investment round in favour of London and the South East.
The letter, signed by Andy Burnham, Ben Houchen, Steve Rotheram and Andy Street, calls on the Government to rework its housing investment formula.
It reads: ‘We should not lose out because our house prices are not as high as in London and the south-east.
‘In the marginal viability funding round of the housing infrastructure fund, announced this month, many brownfield developments in our regions lost out to areas where the land values are higher and the cost of development is lower, due to the funding formula used to assess the bids.'
The mayors have asked the Government to reassess the way it allocates money for housing so that Greater Manchester, the Liverpool city region, West Midlands and Tees Valley, get what they need.
They have pledged to work with councils to deliver more housing, jobs and better transport links, to regenerate brownfield sites, and drive productivity in the construction sector.
The mayors argued that investing in housing would generate jobs and drive productivity for the whole country.
This story first appeared on themj.co.uk.
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