The UK Government has recently carried out a review of Housing and Rgeneration which proposed the merger of the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships.  RICS believes that if a merger takes place the resultant body should be a delivery focused proactive enabler with strategic planning, funding and development capacity.

In order to achieve this the new body should:

• Be responsible for the physical regeneration of deprived communities such as has occurred in Hume and is occurring in New Islington, Manchester
  
  
• Champion regeneration (in the widest sense) and sustainable communities – it is imperative that the focus is on much more than just housing and includes such issues as jobs, design, the environment, integrating mixed use into communities and interaction with adjacent communities
  
  
• Deliver affordable housing (in the widest sense), such as the Bedzed project, in a mixed use setting, such as at Chatham Maritime

The full response can be found in the Word downloads box on the right of the page.