ECF (formerly The English Cities Fund) a public-private partnership between Homes England, Legal & General, and Muse, has been appointed to Homes England’s Delivery Partner Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS).
ECF brings together Homes England’s ambition to deliver more affordable housing, Legal & General’s proficiency and experience in investing in transformative real estate and infrastructure, and Muse’s expertise in urban regeneration. Since 2001, the public-private partnership has helped deliver large-scale urban regeneration across England, including in Liverpool, London, Plymouth, and Salford.
The DPS makes procuring a development partner more efficient, accelerating the delivery of residential-led development on land owned by public sector bodies.
The framework is also aimed at giving Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency, more control over the quality and type of places which are created, as well as the speed they are delivered.
As one of the largest vendors of residential land, the DPS is used as one of the Homes England’s main routes for land disposal. Regeneration partners may bid for sites through the DPS, or other public bodies can use the system to procure development partners.
The appointment of ECF to the DPS means it will be easier for the partnership to drive forward the delivery of large scale residential-led development on publicly owned land.
Joining the DPS comes shortly after ECF announced a further £200m investment, doubling the size of the Fund to £400m, to deliver regeneration and create more places across England.
Phil Mayall, Managing Director at Muse, said: “The need for ECF and the regeneration we deliver has never been greater. Our expansion reflects our ambition to do more, in more places, across the country.
“Joining the Delivery Partner Dynamic Purchasing System will help ECF accelerate its placemaking and partnership approach. It will enable us to support Homes England’s ambition to deliver more quality homes across the country and enable us to work with a wider range of public sector partners.
“It is testament to ECF’s ability to deliver. It reflects our approach and our ability to create genuine social value and placemaking.”
