ESCC- WH - ITT SPACES partnership: Engagement, research and advice

The SPACES (Strategic Property Asset Collaboration in East Sussex) partnership has been awarded funding from the One Public Estate (OPE) Opportunity Development Fund (ODF) to provide capacity to work with public sector partners to develop a pipeline of public sector property opportunities that are 'bid-ready'.

One of the ODF workstreams is 'Land Release for Housing Development'. SPACES is commissioning a piece of work to develop a 'land release' pipeline across public sector partners and explore funding opportunities to enable the development of housing in line with the East Sussex housing agenda.

SPACES has previously commissioned 'phase 1' activity to scope and develop an East Sussex local authority project pipeline for the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) which was carried out during 2022/23.

SPACES is now commissioning 'phase 2' work to extend this land release pipeline development to include wider public sector partners and wider funding opportunities to enable the development of housing in line with the East Sussex housing agenda.

East Sussex is facing acute pressures within the housing sector, including a shortage of affordable housing, and rising demand for temporary accommodation and homelessness services. This in turn impacts on a range of services delivered by the local authorities and our partner organisations. The trends seen in East Sussex reflect broader trends across the South East and nationally as the housing crisis has emerged over the last 20 years.

The key purpose is to:

• Carry out research, engagement and analysis to set out the scope of the public sector land release offer in East Sussex, including the potential pipeline (where there are suitable funding streams*), and highlighting gaps in suitable funding streams.

• Use this information (along with your experience and expertise) to identify pilot(s) which will target a specific housing need identified through the East Sussex Housing Partnership Board and specialist groups.

*Note that whilst BLRF is not the focus of this engagement, should any new BLRF opportunities arise, this should be captured.

Subject to the identification of pilot opportunities, there is potential for this specification to be extended to support pilots to improve viability and progress to a 'bid ready' stage for appropriate funding stream(s). This may include site specific investigations and/or business case development.