Volunteer groups will be able to apply from Monday for
between £10,000 and £50,000 to help identify suitable
sites for discounted homes, get planning permission for
them and to provide other technical support. Further
free specialist advice and guidance will also be made
available for those who participate in the pilot.
The government will be making £8.5 million available
for the 3 year pilot project which will help provide
cut-price homes for younger people and families in need
of housing, through locally-led neighbourhood plans.
Minister of State for Housing, MP, said:
Supporting volunteers who are passionate about
building more of the homes we need in their
communities is something I’m fully behind, and I want
to see far more people getting involved across
England.
This funding is on top of the £26 million already
available to help get neighbourhood plans over the
line, which act as powerful tools for communities to
be involved in the planning of their local area –
providing different housing types for those who need
new homes.
Discounted homes are properties built for people to buy
at affordable rates, allowing them to secure mortgages
in areas of the country where they are currently locked
out of the market by high prices. For example, a 3-bed
home from the Cornwall Community Land Trust was
recently sold at a discount for local people, for a
price of £160,000, which is compared to an average
property price in the county of over £230,000.
The funds launched today forms part of a wider package
of measures and targeted investment to produce more
homes, building on ongoing government action to achieve
a system which delivers 300,000 properties a year by
the mid 2020s.
The new funds can be applied for via our third-party
support provider Locality.
Last year the Ministry of Housing, Communities and
Local Government launched a support package totalling
£26 million for communities seeking to prepare and
adopt a neighbourhood plan. Today’s £8.5 million is in
addition to this, acting as a pilot for the specific
delivery of discounted homes.
The pilot project will run from 13 May 2019 to 31 March
2022. Government will review the outcomes of the pilot
in January 2020 to inform arrangements for future
years.
