By Neil Merrick
18 September 2009
More than £10m is being spent on reviving ten private house building schemes that were mothballed because of the recession.
The money, part of the government’s £1bn Kickstart programme, is being allocated to developers and housing associations in the form of loans and grants. It should lead to the completion of 740 homes over the next few months.
Ministers insisted this week that each of the ten schemes selected for support had been rigorously assessed and that the money came with strict terms attached. Almost half would be repaid within five years and less than 20% consists of direct grants to developers, said the Department for Communities and Local Government.
All but one scheme is run by a developer with an established apprenticeship scheme. Housing minister John Healey suggested the extra funding could create about 1,300 training places over the next two years as well as securing existing jobs.
‘We are using the power of government investment to build the homes that people need, help get people into jobs and help Britain through the recession,’ said Healey as the allocations were announced on September 14.
Four of the schemes are in the West Midlands, with two each in the Southwest and Southeast, and the remainder in the North.
All include low-cost housing that will be sold through housing associations. A second round of bidding has begun for further schemes to restart by next March.
The Kickstart allocations were announced on the same day as the Home Builders Federation claimed that confidence was returning to the industry. Its latest quarterly survey showed that reservations of new homes rose during July for the fourth month running.
‘The need for new homes in Britain has not gone away,’ said HBF executive chair Stewart Baseley.
Last week, the DCLG announced that 43 housing associations and other bodies are to receive almost £250m for schemes involving 3,400 affordable homes – part of the ongoing National Affordable Housing Programme. About two-thirds will be for social renting.
18 September 2009
More than £10m is being spent on reviving ten private house building schemes that were mothballed because of the recession.
The money, part of the government’s £1bn Kickstart programme, is being allocated to developers and housing associations in the form of loans and grants. It should lead to the completion of 740 homes over the next few months.
Ministers insisted this week that each of the ten schemes selected for support had been rigorously assessed and that the money came with strict terms attached. Almost half would be repaid within five years and less than 20% consists of direct grants to developers, said the Department for Communities and Local Government.
All but one scheme is run by a developer with an established apprenticeship scheme. Housing minister John Healey suggested the extra funding could create about 1,300 training places over the next two years as well as securing existing jobs.
‘We are using the power of government investment to build the homes that people need, help get people into jobs and help Britain through the recession,’ said Healey as the allocations were announced on September 14.
Four of the schemes are in the West Midlands, with two each in the Southwest and Southeast, and the remainder in the North.
All include low-cost housing that will be sold through housing associations. A second round of bidding has begun for further schemes to restart by next March.
The Kickstart allocations were announced on the same day as the Home Builders Federation claimed that confidence was returning to the industry. Its latest quarterly survey showed that reservations of new homes rose during July for the fourth month running.
‘The need for new homes in Britain has not gone away,’ said HBF executive chair Stewart Baseley.
Last week, the DCLG announced that 43 housing associations and other bodies are to receive almost £250m for schemes involving 3,400 affordable homes – part of the ongoing National Affordable Housing Programme. About two-thirds will be for social renting.
