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London Councils has started the Housing Development Academy to provide short courses on the skills including initial site analysis techniques through to the financial appraisals and commercial assessments required for large-scale investment.
Set up by the London Housing Directors’ Group, it is backed by grant funding from the Greater London Authority and will be delivered by Future of London, the capital’s leadership and networking organisation for the built environment.
Cllr Darren Rodwell, London Councils’ executive member for regeneration, housing and planning, said: “We’re determined to give more Londoners the opportunity to live in affordable, high-quality homes. That means building more council housing, as boroughs were able to do in previous decades. This is vital for our vision of London as a fair, economically dynamic and environmentally sustainable city.
“The Housing Development Academy will play a pivotal role in making sure London has the skills required to deliver the council-built homes our communities are crying out for.”
Training is open to staff from councils, housing associations and developers, with priority given to borough councils in the capital.
London Councils said the decline of council housebuilding throughout the 1980s left local authorities largely depleted of development skills, and that the body is committed to strengthen their capacity back up, so they can provide a new generation of housing.
