03 Feb 2011
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has reorganised its Midlands structure to create a single body encompassing the East and West Midlands, Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire. The HCA told Insider that the changes to the structure were made “to reflect its role as a smaller, investment and enabling agency”.
The government-funded agency has made the structural changes in the wake of the government spending cuts which were announced last year.
The changes were officially agreed on 1 December last year. A single Midlands operating area that encompasses the former East and West Midlands regions as well as Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire will now come into force. 
Executive director for the Midlands, Paul Spooner, told Insider that although working under new boundaries, “the focus on strong local engagement and support has not altered”.
He said: “We remain focused on supporting our local authority and development partners through close working to help them meet their own ambitions for their areas. Yes, our restructured areas will help us make efficiency savings from our operational budget, but our offer to partners remains strong and locally based.
“Our role is to help local authorities, where required, with practical advice and investment to increase housing supply, including more affordable homes; tackle regeneration and support growth.
“Our recent work to support local authorities in developing Local Investment Plans is invaluable, because areas have agreed local priorities in which future investment – be that capital or land – is acutely targeted towards meeting genuine local need.”
The HCA is currently involved in several major projects in both the East and West Midlands.
Along with the Accord Group and Walsall Council, the HCA has recently completed the first phase of the £65m scheme to revive Walsall town centre.
The first phase, which will create more than 300 homes in the region, received £1.7m of investment from the HCA.
Nationally, the HCA has streamlined to five operating areas, plus the London region where responsibility is in the process of being transferred to the mayor.
