Better together: the role of partnerships in increasing housing delivery

The role of land

A key contributor to these partnerships is land, specifically land already owned by the public sector. Combining publicly owned land with private housebuilder expertise has been long viewed as a way to improve the housing crisis, and the contribution of public land is the most common form of public-private partnership to support development.

The scale of opportunity here is significant. Savills analysis of Land Registry documents shows that:

• 6% of all land in England is in public ownership
• In major urban areas, this proportion rises to 14% of all freehold property
• Just over 25% of the land within the GLA boundary is public
• In eight local authorities, more than 40% of land is owned by the public sector

Public land is split about 1:2 between central and local government. The Ministry of Defence is the largest landowner, with 252,000 hectares. Other major landowners include the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the NHS, and TfL. In 2021, TfL published plans that could see 60 hectares of land developed to deliver 13,000 homes and a further 110 hectares of land which can deliver 33,000 homes, demonstrating the large scale of these of projects and boost in housing that is possible.

Government data underrepresents PPP activity because it categorises housing delivery by organisation type, whether it be private, local authority, or housing association, rather than collaborative activity. Despite PPPs being lower in activity, these partnerships often deliver larger schemes, especially in urban areas where publicly owned land is higher, like London.

Looking ahead

PPPs will continue to play an important role in increasing housing delivery. However, these partnerships alone are not enough to fully unlock the potential of large sites. Better funding models are essential to scale up output.

Long-term, flexible funding is often needed to fund the upfront infrastructure costs. Savills recent research into large site delivery indicates developers stated that the most helpful intervention Homes England could provide would be through infrastructure funding.

More funding options are needed to support development, such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funding. TIF allows local authorities to issue bonds to fund major development projects. The bonds can be repaid using business tax revenues generated by the new or improved infrastructure. Although common in the US, there are limited cases in the UK to date.

More accessible, long-term, and low-cost funding would help deliver key infrastructure, unlock stalled sites, and reduce the risk for developers, ultimately attracting more private investment.

As current housing output falls short of the government’s targets, there is a need for new strategies and collaboration to increase delivery. Using already publicly owned land, combined with private expertise, brings significant potential for large schemes. In addition, improved funding will play a key role in boosting housing delivery.

This research was presented at UKREiiF 2025, during the ‘Better together: the role of partnerships in increasing housing delivery’ session.

Further information

Contact Emily Williams