Housing leaders from across the North visited Liverpool City Region this week as part of Renew, the Northern Housing Consortium’s inquiry into housing-led regeneration for Northern growth, supported by Homes for the North and Muse. The tour explored how housing associations are transforming places through long-term investment, partnership working and community-led regeneration.
It showcased a diverse range of regeneration projects, from estate renewal and town centre revitalisation to brownfield redevelopment and sustainable waterfront communities. Together, the schemes demonstrate the critical role housing associations play as place-makers, investors and long-term stewards of communities.
Palace Fields, Runcorn
The first stop was Palace Fields, where Riverside is leading a £120 million regeneration programme to transform The Local Centre and The Uplands in the Halton Lea area of Runcorn. The scheme is centred on creating new affordable homes, community facilities and public spaces while respecting the area’s heritage and responding to community needs.
Community engagement has been central to shaping the plans with feedback received through workshops, surveys, events, and meetings with residents, businesses and community groups.
Reconnecting Runcorn
The tour then moved into Runcorn town centre, where visitors learned about the wider Reconnecting Runcorn programme. Backed by £23.6 million from the Government’s Towns Fund, the programme is delivering an ambitious package of projects designed to improve housing, skills, culture, connectivity and economic opportunity.
A key element is Halton Housing’s High Street development, which will provide 66 affordable social rent homes for people aged over 55 on a long-vacant brownfield site. Importantly, the scheme has been designed to support the revitalisation of the town centre itself, encouraging residents to use local businesses and services and helping drive increased footfall and economic activity.
Stonedale Estate, Croxteth
In the afternoon, delegates travelled to Croxteth, North Liverpool to see Cobalt Housing’s Stonedale Estate regeneration programme.
Stonedale highlights what can be achieved through sustained commitment. Since developing a resident-led masterplan, Cobalt has invested heavily in transforming the estate through new homes, environmental improvements, public realm investment and tenure diversification. The wider programme has already delivered 145 new homes, with a further 70 social rent homes now underway as part of the next phase of regeneration.
Delegates heard first-hand about the challenges of delivering estate regeneration, including land assembly, resident rehousing and the intense support required to deliver this, demolition and infrastructure investment, and the importance of long-term funding and planning certainty. The scheme also demonstrates the continuing demand for affordable housing, with homes designed to meet a wide range of local needs, from family housing and bungalows to accessible and adaptable homes.
North Liverpool
The final stop focused on regeneration across North Liverpool, including the dramatic transformation taking place around Liverpool Waters, Bramley-Moore Dock and Lightbody Street.
At Hartley Locks, Torus has delivered a landmark canalside development comprising 195 homes and commercial space on a former brownfield site adjacent to Stanley Dock. The scheme has helped unlock wider investment in the Northern Docks area, demonstrating how affordable housing can contribute to economic growth, environmental sustainability and place transformation. The development is also pioneering low-carbon housing through its connection to the Mersey Heat network, powered by one of the UK’s largest water-source heat pumps.
Delegates heard how Hartley Locks forms part of a wider programme of partnership-led regeneration involving Liverpool City Council, Sefton Council, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Homes England. From major infrastructure investment at Central Docks to the emerging Liverpool North vision, North Liverpool is experiencing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver housing-led growth, attract investment and create thriving new communities.
Claire Griffiths, Chair of Liverpool City Region Housing Associations and Chief Executive of Cobalt Housing, said:
“This visit provided a great opportunity to showcase the role housing associations play as long-term investors in our communities. Across Liverpool City Region, our members are delivering much more than new homes – they are regenerating neighbourhoods, attracting investment, boosting economic growth, jobs and training and building much-needed affordable homes.
The projects visited demonstrate what can be achieved when housing associations, local authorities, combined authorities and government work together with a shared vision. However, they also highlight the scale of commitment required to deliver transformation. Successful regeneration takes time, significant investment and strong partnerships. With the right funding mechanisms, policy stability and planning support, housing associations can do even more to unlock regeneration and deliver the homes and places our communities need.”
Northern Housing Consortium Chief Executive Tracy Harrison said: “Thank you to the Liverpool City Region Housing Associations for hosting such a useful and informative visit. It highlighted how town centre, brownfield and estate regeneration are all essential to tackle the housing crisis in the North and create thriving communities, and we saw some fantastic work to involve residents.
“Through Renew we are calling on the Government to seize the opportunity offered by housing-led regeneration, by providing the right support including long-term devolved regeneration funding, and local capacity building, to enable more projects like this to happen. Our policy recommendations are about ensuring that regeneration is viable and achievable across the North, which has diverse needs and challenges. We are also sharing best practice and lessons learnt to help our members to deliver more projects like these.”
