Andy Burnham’s ‘growth in every postcode’ plan risks stalling without urgent action on viability, Building the Future Think Tank report warns

Andy Burnham’s plan to rebuild Britain’s regions to drive “growth in every postcode” risks stalling unless the government tackles collapsing scheme viability, fragmented funding and a shortage of local delivery capacity, a major Building report has warned.

The report, Seizing the Moment: How to Deliver Regional Regeneration in Britain, is being launched at the Building the Future Conference in central London this morning. Produced by the Building the Future Think Tank, it draws on eight months of reporting by Building, Building Design and Housing Today journalists, informed by a 12-strong advisory panel of industry leaders.

The report finds that the regeneration of towns and cities is back at the centre of national politics for the first time in more than a decade. Burnham’s arrival in Downing Street in July, and his “Manchesterism” agenda to shift power away from Whitehall, has turned a slow policy trend into the defining regeneration story of 2026.

But the industry is clear that goodwill alone will not deliver. The report highlights:

• Viability in freefall: a 300-home scheme modelled by the British Property Federation that promised an £8.2m return in 2020 is now £6.2m in the red; while the Renew inquiry into housing-led regeneration in the North of England identified lower land and property values as particular barriers
• The loss of build-to-rent: UK build-to-rent starts are down 70% from their peak, and 93% in London (according research by the BPF and Savills), removing a key source of early investment in large regeneration schemes
• Stretched local government: 40% of English councils are now under no overall control, the highest proportion on record, while many authorities lack the officers and experience to use new powers
• Infrastructure as the binding constraint: grid, water and sewage capacity is now holding back growth in areas such as west London, Oxford and Cambridge

“Developers are really positive about devolution,” said Alex Notay, chief executive of the Housing Forum and a member of the advisory panel. “But the bigger problem is viability. I’m not sure that the Burnham government has really picked up quite how fragile and how difficult things are.”

Panel advisers also warn that the government’s renewed focus on council housing could slow overall delivery. Just 1,090 homes were started by English councils in 2025/26, against more than 30,000 affordable homes delivered by other providers (according to government housing supply data).

Chloë McCulloch, editorial director of Building, said: “Regeneration is back on the national agenda, and mayors now have more power to shape their places than at any time in a generation. But ambition is not the same as delivery.

“Our report is clear that unless viability, funding and local capacity are addressed together, this moment could be lost. With the Budget on 28 October, the government has an immediate opportunity to act.”

Regen Connect 2026 report

 Seizing the Moment: How to Deliver Regional Regeneration in Britain

DOWNLOADPDF | 2.53 Mb

 

Regen Connect advisory panel