More new and affordable homes for the East of England

9 March 2010

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Nearly £7 million is to be invested in the East of England to ensure that hundreds of new and affordable homes are provided across the region, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the national housing and regeneration agency, has confirmed.

More than 700 new and affordable homes will be delivered at 12 key developments in the region, the second highest number of sites in the country, in areas including Bedford, Colchester. Peterborough and Ipswich– with more than 270 of these will be available through HomeBuy Direct a joint loan scheme between Government and Developers which provides first time buyers a step on the property ladder.

The news forms part of this week’s announcement by Housing Minister John Healey about the first wave of successful bids in round two of the Kickstart programme. In total, funding of £83 million will be allocated to 87 stalled housing developments across the country.

The news will also see jobs and apprenticeships created on the sites in the region, thanks to the programme’s commitment to ensure that local people benefit from employment opportunities created by Kickstart activity.

Welcoming John Healey’s announcement, the HCA’s regional director for the East of England, Terry Fuller said: 'The Kickstart programme demonstrates how we can work in partnership with developers, social landlords and local authorities to deliver more homes and places to live in the region.

As a result of Round 2 of Kickstart, more developments will be back on track, and ultimately more people in the region will have the opportunity to live in a new home.'

Housing Minister John Healey said: 'We’re putting the weight of Government investment into building much-needed affordable homes, keeping people in work and giving young people a chance of apprenticeships.

'That’s why I’m allocating £83 million to get 87 stalled developments across the country up and running again, creating 1,700 jobs and giving more than 2,200 first-time buyers the chance to take an affordable step onto the property ladder.

'In this recession, the Government has not stepped back and left the homes and jobs we need to the market. We’re using public funding to keep Britain building through the downturn.'

Work on these schemes is due to start by March 2011 with completion expected by the end of next year.

The full list of successful bids includes:

Cambridgeshire
VT22 & VT25, Hampton Vale, Peterborough, 106 homes with £1,045,800 Kickstart funding. Morris Homes. 41 Homebuy Direct (HBD) and 65 Open Market (OM)

Bedfordshire
Greenkeepers Mews, Bedford, 50 homes with £223,500 Kickstart funding. BDW Trading Ltd.; 4 Social Rented (SO) 1 LCHO (shared ownership) 10 HBD, 35 OM

Phase 2 Silsoe, Central Bedfordshire, 50 homes with £608,850 Kickstart funding. Miller Homes. 31 OM, 16 HBD, 3 LCHO

KHD The Edge, Dunstable, Central Bedfordshire, 56 homes with £627,450 Kickstart funding. JS Bloor (Northampton) Ltd. 30 OM, 26 HBD

KHD Wixams (Village 1), Bedford, 50 homes with £719,250 Kickstart funding. Miller Homes Ltd. 15 OM, 20HBD, 15 LCHO,

KHD H14 West of Bedford, 52 homes with £325,200 Kickstart funding. BDW Trading Ltd. 27 OM, 10 HBD, 6 LCHO, 9 SR

Essex
Building 5 Colne View, Colchester, 58 homes with £918,000 Kickstart funding. BDW Trading Ltd. 15 OM, 43 HBD

Norfolk
Victoria Road Diss, South Norfolk, 50 homes with £360,750 Kickstart funding. Persimmon Homes. 18 OM, 19 HBD, 4 LCHO, 9 SR

Suffolk
Former NCP Car-park Ipswich, 51 homes with £600,000 Kickstart funding. BDW Trading Ltd.13 OM, 38 HBD

Phase 2 Bloodmore Hill, Waveney, 63 homes with £354,150 Kickstart funding.Persimmon Homes Ltd. 17 OM, 17 HBD, 7 LCHO, 22 SR

Phase 3 Great Cornard, Babergh, 104 homes with £653,420 Kickstart funding. Persimmon Homes Ltd. 29 OM, 29 HBD, 12 LCHO, 34 SR

Tree Tops, Forest Heath, 52 homes with £117,000 Kickstart funding. J S Bloor Ltd. 46 OM, 6 HBD

Ends

For further information please contact Emma Drake on 01223 374008 or email emma.drake@hca.gsx.gov.uk OR Samantha Roe on 01223 37 4044 samantha.roe@hca.gsx.gov.uk

Notes to editors:

HomeBuy is the government’s low cost home ownership scheme. It helps social tenants, key workers and first-time buyers to get onto the housing ladder.

HomeBuy gives housing developers access to grants for the provision of new affordable housing. It can also help housing associations in encouraging and supporting their social rented tenants into affordable home ownership.

There are five products in the HomeBuy scheme:

  • New Build HomeBuy – new homes are provided by our development partners and offered for sale as leasehold properties on shared ownership terms
  • Open Market HomeBuy – purchasers buy a home on the open market with the benefit of an equity loan that sits alongside a conventional mortgage
  • Social HomeBuy – enables social housing tenants of participating housing associations and local authorities buy their current home either outright or on shared ownership terms.
  • HomeBuy Direct – purchasers buy specific new build properties with an equity loan of up to 30 per cent of the purchase price, with the loan jointly funded by the government and the developer.
  • Rent to HomeBuy – selected new build homes are rented on intermediate rent terms for up to three years, after which time the tenant can purchase their home through the New Build HomeBuy scheme

Funding for the HomeBuy scheme is allocated through the National Affordable Housing Programme

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is the single, national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England.

Our vision is about creating opportunity for people to live in homes they can afford, in places they want to live and for local authorities and communities to deliver the ambition they have for their own areas.

We achieve this by:

  • acting as the bridge between national targets and local ambitions, with a strong regional presence
  • through our Single Conversation process with local authorities, RDAs and sub-regional partnerships
  • working effectively with the market, housebuilders, investors and other stakeholders
  • understanding the needs and aspirations of people and communities

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