GOVERNMENT and local authorities are coming under increasing pressure to allow developers to build residential schemes on land allocated for employment use.

A few years ago, local authorities mapped out areas of land dedicated to be an area of employment but, because of the recession, many areas of land throughout Merseyside have not been developed and this could be used for residential rather than commercial schemes.

Housing development schemes are vital to the region’s recovery and by freeing up land destined for commercial use it could kick-start regeneration for areas that need it.

Obviously, not all land allocated for commercial use would suit residential developments but there are certainly plots in the city and the outlying areas which would be perfect for housing schemes. While I do think this initiative could help start things moving in terms of economic regeneration, I also think that this alone will have little impact without the banks being more supportive both to businesses and to potential homebuyers.

The current situation is that developers aren’t keen to take on big regeneration projects when there is no market out there. This stands for both the residential and commercial sectors.

Demand from the commercial sectors for new schemes is at an all-time low. There isn’t a host of new businesses coming through wanting premises, and established firms are more concerned with cutting costs than relocating to new office space.

On the residential side, there is a social demand for properties.

In 2010, new-build housing numbers fell by 13% on 2009 figures.

This is the lowest number of homes, just 102,570, being completed since 1923, and at a time when the country is experiencing an acute shortage of new homes.

Household formation projections indicate that 232,000 new homes need to be built every year to 2030 to meet demand.

However, the simple matter is that people can’t get mortgages and can’t afford to get on the property ladder.

Until the mortgage market returns to a reasonable level of lending again, we are left with a limited market.

The Government is expected to review the potential changes to the planning system in the autumn, but, unless the banks start throwing their own weight behind the economy, freeing up lending, no initiative is going to have a huge impact.