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country to get onto the property ladder. 81 In the year to the third quarter of 2014-15, thenumber of Right to Buy sales increased by 15%. 821.137 Budget 2015 sets out further progress on the government’s commitments to ambitioushousing and regeneration projects. The government is designating the first 20 HousingZones outside London, and continuing to work with the other 8 shortlisted areas – atleast doubling the ambition announced by the Chancellor in his Mansion House speech to create10 housing zones outside London. 83 Backed by government technical support and planningfunding, brokerage and investment, these Zones could support up to 45,000 new homes.1.138 The government is committing to enable the public sector to leaddevelopment on the next phases of Northstowe. Under the delivery model set out atAutumn Statement 2014, the government expects that three-quarters of the homes startedon the public sector-owned site by 2020 will be built under direct contract with the publicsector, with the rest in that period delivered through serviced plots in line with the publicsector’s overall master plan for the development. This model will help the development to buildout at twice the rate of a conventional private sector route. The government has appointedthe University of York to lead a study into the feasibility and economic impacts of directcommissioning of housing on a significantly wider scale, and to evaluate the development atNorthstowe.1.139 Budget 2015 also announces £97 million of funding and ring fencing of thelocal 50% share of business rate growth to support the London Borough of Barnetand the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) plans for the regeneration of Brent Cross.This will unlock 7,500 new homes and create 4.9 million square feet of new commercialdevelopment with space for up to 27,000 jobs.1.140 Following legislative authority from the Deregulation Bill later in March 2015, thegovernment expects that the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) established to delivera new garden city at Ebbsfleet will be operational from April 2015. The Department forCommunities and Local Government is announcing the Board members for the UDCfor the garden city at Ebbsfleet, who will lead the Corporation alongside the ChairmanDesignate, Michael Cassidy.1.141 The government will consult shortly on a specification to deliver the master plan for thedevelopment at Ebbsfleet, which will provide the Development Corporation with a vision forthe next stage of development. The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) will shortly bringforward the Northfleet Embankment site for marketing, to deliver high-quality homes andemployment opportunities. To further support development of the garden city, the Chancellorhas asked the UDC to work with the government to produce a prioritised, realisticand costed plan for infrastructure needs at Ebbsfleet.1.142 Budget 2015 launches a consultation into the compulsory purchase regimeto make it clearer, faster and fairer for all parties. This will support the government’scommitment to improving the consenting and planning processes for applicants and claimants,to support brownfield development.1.143 Following the successful roll-out of City Deals across England, in 2014 the governmentsigned an ambitious City Deal for Glasgow and the Clyde Valley, alongside the ScottishGovernment and the Glasgow and Clyde Valley local authorities. The government believesthat there is merit in extending the City Deal model further in Scotland and Wales. Therefore,Budget 2015 announces that the government is opening negotiations with local81‘Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme’, Department for Communities and Local Government, March 201582‘Right to Buy sales: October to December 2014, England’, Department for Communities and Local Government,February 201583‘Mansion House 2014: Speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer’, HM Treasury, June 2014, available on gov.uk42 Budget 2015