Developers join Place North’s Mind the Gap campaign

Wain Homes, Ion Property Developments, Cityheart, Placefirst, and Cole Waterhouse are among the firms to have recently added their voices to our calls for a solution to the North’s viability crisis. You can join them.

For years, housing providers, developers, and investors have been loud and clear about what needs to be done to tackle the housing crisis. Place North has listened and is taking action.

Alongside Cavendish and Lichfields, we have launched Mind the Gap, a campaign for a government discretionary grant aid programme for the North.

Sign the campaign

Since the campaign launched, the property industry has responded en masse. Some of the North’s biggest developers, councils, and consultancies have signed up in support of the Mind the Gap campaign by adding their names to the list of signatories.

These include:

CERT Property, Genesis Homes, Placefirst, Turner & Townsend, Cityheart, Cushman & Wakefield, Hill Dickinson, Richborough Estates, Fairhurst Architects, Step Places, Mansell Building Solutions, Caro Developments, Hive Land & Planning, Casey Group, JLL, Persimmon Homes, Sheppard Robson, Chancerygate, Deetu, Alderley Group, BA Commercial, Cassel & Fletcher, Gleeds, Roberts Real Estate, OMD, Cubico, Story Homes, Mott MacDonald, Oakmere Homes, Brabners, Walker Sime, BDP, Sigma Capital, SimpsonHaugh, NJL Consulting, CBRE, Jarron Investments, Mosaic Town Planning, Progressive Living, Morgan Sindall Construction, Cole Waterhouse, BXB Land Solutions, MCI Developments, Maro Developments, Kirklees Council, Hull City Council, Savills, DLA Architecture, Layer.studio, Enabl, Manchester City Council, Ollier Smurthwaite Architects, Ion Property Developments, Aecom, Urban Green, NPL Group, Britannia Group, Wain Homes, and many more.

Legislation around biodiversity net gain and building safety, as well as the green agenda, the need to deliver affordable housing, and rising build costs are all making development harder.

Labour’s planning reforms are all well and good but in order to really get the North building, significant state intervention to unlock sites and overcome negative land values is required.

We believe that grant support to address viability is the only way the government can hope to achieve its ambitious target of 1.5m homes by the end of the parliament.

It is time the Northern property market had a unified voice to take the issues that matter to our industry directly to Downing Street. This campaign aims to do just that.

If you work in property, regardless of your seniority level, you can show your support by adding your name to the signatories of this campaign – just enter your name, job title, and company below. The more people that sign, the more power the campaign has. Multiple people can sign from the same company.

Sign the campaign

Dave Saville, managing director for the North West at Caddick Construction, said: “Caddick is supporting the Mind the Gap campaign because we have first-hand experience of how the right investment can be transformational for our communities.

“This underpins our Places for Life ESG strategy, through which we ensure our work contributes to thriving communities and a thriving planet. Meaningful investment is about much more than buildings; it’s about placemaking and giving communities spaces to succeed both socially and economically.

In a climate of uncertainty, investment in the North is a sure bet. Recent history demonstrates that in the North we have the skills and resources to make things happen, along with a determination to achieve and a strong record of delivery.”

Jonathan Willan, founder of developer Willan Living, said: “Willan Living is proud to support the Mind the Gap campaign. As an SME developer based in the North, we witness firsthand the challenges posed by the viability gap.

“The North has immense potential, with skilled professionals, communities eager for change, and a wealth of untapped brownfield opportunities. But to deliver much-needed homes and meet government targets, we need decisive action. A discretionary grant aid programme would empower developers to unlock stalled sites, creating homes and supporting economic growth. This campaign is a valuable step towards addressing the challenges facing our industry.”