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£6 million funding boost for affordable homes available
to local groups across England
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New government-funded training and advice to help
communities kick-start local housing developments
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Community-led sector expected to supply over 5,000
homes in the next 5 years – helping to deliver the homes our
country needs
Communities across the country are set to benefit from a £6
million funding boost to help them build more of the homes that
their area needs, Housing Minister MP has announced today (15
February 2019).
The Community Led Homes Programme – managed by 4 leading housing
charities – will provide local people with funding to kickstart
community-led housing developments that will benefit their
neighbourhood.
Funding of up to £10,000 will be provided to groups to cover
start-up costs such as legal fees, and a further £3.5 million
will be made available to provide technical advice and support to
guide communities through the process of building the housing
they urgently need.
Today’s news is part of a wider, comprehensive package of
measures to increase local housebuilding, and builds on ongoing
government action to reach the ambitious target of 300,000
properties a year by the mid-2020s.
Housing Minister, MP, said:
For too long, governments of all stripes have failed to build
the homes our country needs, but we are turning that around.
Last year we delivered over 222,000 homes but we need to
deliver more good quality properties, and the community-led
housing programme will help us do just that.
Alongside £6 million of funding, the programme will also
provide crucial training and advice to local groups, ensuring
that we are not just building better homes but also building
better communities.
Head of Community Led Homes, Samantha Jones, said:
Communities want to play their part in tackling the country’s
affordable housing crisis and many are forming community led
housing groups to do so.
In the next 5 years the movement will build over 5,000
affordable homes. We’ve created the Community Led Homes
programme to help this figure increase further still, and in
time, for community led housing to become a mainstream housing
option.
Community-led housing enables communities of all shapes and forms
to take the lead in building and renovating homes, helping people
to come together to solve their own housing challenges and build
high-quality, affordable homes.
The new programme will strengthen the vital role that
community-led housing can play in delivering much-needed
affordable housing, helping the sector to play its part in
getting Britain building and delivering the homes our country
needs.
The department is looking to commit £6 million over a 2-year
period. The payment of the full allocation in 2019 to 2020 will
depend on the full and appropriate defrayal of the £2 million
allocation in 2018 to 2019. This must be in line with the project
as defined in the funding agreement and the satisfactory delivery
of the project against project targets.
Community Led Homes aims to make community-led housing a
mainstream housing option and will provide training, funding and
practical support to housing groups, councils and developers.
It is run by 4 leading community-led housing organisations:
- Confederation of Co-operative Housing
- Locality
- National Community Land Trust Network
- UK Cohousing
They have come together with the aim of making it easier for
communities to access support for building community-led homes.
More information about the programme, including how to apply for
a grant, can be found at www.communityledhomes.org.uk
