English Partnerships

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English Partnerships (or EP) is the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by Regional Development Agencies on a regional level. It is responsible for land acquisition and assembly and major development projects, alone or in joint partnership with private sector developers. It is particularly active in major regeneration areas such as the Thames Gateway and in expansion areas such as Milton Keynes, where the Deputy Prime Minister (acting as Environment Minister) removed planning from local control and has appointed them as the statutory planning authority.

It is a non-departmental public body funded through Communities and Local Government, and was previously funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (the predecessory body to Communities and Local Government).

English Partnerships is legally two entirely independent bodies set up under separate statutes. One is called the Commission for New Towns, launched in October 1961, which was responsible for the Development Corporation established by the New Towns Act 1959 and the other the Urban Regeneration Agency set up by the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.

On 17 January 2007, Ruth Kelly announced proposals to bring together the delivery functions of the Housing Corporation, English Partnerships and parts of Communities and Local Government to form a new unified housing and regeneration agency, Communities England, which is likely to become operational during 2008 or 2009.