Despite limited consultation with city leaders, there was much to welcome in the housing announcement from the Prime Minister and the levelling up secretary, particularly the focus on cities, brownfield land, and densification.

Core Cities UK has long argued that development within cities is key to solving the UK’s housing crisis. Communities secretary Michael Gove spoke about the importance of a long-term plan, and we agree. In 2021, we assembled a housing deal to show how English Core Cities alone could add 25,000 homes a year to our housing stock and set out plans to refurbish thousands more. We did this in a spirit of partnership and collaboration, having first put our ideas to Gavin Barwell, the then housing minister, back in 2016.