The Homes and Communities Agency has allocated £1.8BN of funding to 150 Housing Associations, Local Authorities and house builders through its Affordable Homes Programme, in order to help deliver 80,000 new affordable homes between 2011 and 2015, bringing the total number of homes delivered in the spending review period to 170,000 Construction News announced.
The London region is set to receive 27% of the total number of homes funded, equating to a total investment of nearly £630M, with the rest allocated among five other HCA regions. Mayor of London Boris Johnson said of the award, which will help deliver 53,00 new homes to the capital ‘This is a really good deal. I am pleased that the hard work of the GLA, the boroughs and providers has paid off and we have agreed a programme that will deliver high quality, affordable housing for around a quarter of a million Londoners,’ Building reported.
The National Housing Federation also welcomed the announcement that HA’s will build around 90% of the 170,000 homes,’ Building stated. Federation chief David Orr said ‘The fact that housing associations are going to build the vast majority of the nation’s affordable homes over the next four years- despite the housebuilding budget having been cut by 63%- is a testament to their innovation and ability to manage risk in difficult situations.’
The HCA funding awards come in the same week as the volume house builder Barratt returned a £40M pre-tax profit, the fist time it has done so in three years. Chief Executive Mark Clare said that ‘In London our developments are selling well…but trading conditions in areas outside London and the Southeast remain challenging,’ Building reported.
