Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram has set out a £2bn housing ambition to deliver more than 63,000 new homes, anchoring growth on brownfield regeneration and tighter alignment between housing, transport and jobs. The programme is framed as both a response to the national housing crisis and a statement that locally led investment can drive faster, more sustainable delivery than central government-led schemes.
Ambitious pipeline and public funding
- Work by the Combined Authority and partners has identified over 300 development sites across the city region, capable of delivering more than 63,000–64,000 homes, including roughly 31,000 in Liverpool itself.
- Around 139 of the 300-plus schemes are expected to require approximately £1bn of public subsidy, with total investment across the full pipeline estimated at up to £2bn to overcome viability challenges on complex urban sites.
Brownfield-first regeneration
- Rotheram’s plan leans on a long-standing brownfield-first approach, prioritising previously developed and often derelict industrial land so that new housing growth does not erode green spaces across the city region.
- The mayor has argued that unlocking contaminated or constrained brownfield sites is expensive and has called for significant government support alongside local funding to bring forward land capable of delivering tens of thousands of homes.
New delivery tools and partnerships
- The proposals sit within the LCR Housing Pipeline and build on a Strategic Place Partnership with Homes England, which is being used to identify priority sites, tackle barriers to development and sequence investment.
- The Combined Authority is also being asked to approve a Housing Investment Fund and establish a Mayoral Development Corporation, initially focusing on Liverpool’s North Docks, to assemble land, coordinate planning and de-risk large regeneration schemes.
Market engagement and construction sector role
- A major developer and investor event on 5 February will launch a new Liverpool City Region Developer Network, bringing together contractors, housebuilders, housing associations and investors to test appetite, shape delivery models and accelerate starts on site.
- Regional construction observers note that the scale and timing of the programme could provide a critical pipeline of work in 2026 and beyond, helping to sustain firms through a patchy market while pushing modern, low-carbon building standards.
Tackling housing need and inequality
- Rotheram has framed the strategy as central to tackling a local manifestation of the national housing crisis, arguing that everyone should have a safe, comfortable home and that new supply must support inclusive, long-term economic growth.
- The Housing Pipeline follows a £700m commitment to social and affordable housing and is pitched as a long-term framework to bring forward stalled schemes, strengthen investor confidence and ensure regeneration benefits communities across all six local authorities.
