By A £6 million funding boost to help communities across England build more homes has been announced by the government.
This funding will be made available to local groups as part of a segment of new government funding that includes funding for the provision of training and advice to help communities initiate local housing developments.
The Community Led Homes Programme, managed by four leading housing charities, will provide local areas with funding that will eventually benefit local neighbourhoods, according to the recent press release issued by the government.
Up to £10,000 will be provided to groups to cover startup 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.
Kit Malthouse, housing minister, said that the community-led sector is expected to supply over 5,000 homes in the next five years.
He added: “For too long, Governments 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,”
He also said out that the programme will also provide crucial training and advice to local groups, ensuring that as well as better homes, better communities are being built.
Tackling the affordability crisis
Samantha Jones, head of Community Led Homes, believes that 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.
She added: “In the next five 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.
Jones also commented on her belief that the new programme will strengthen the vital role that community-led housing can play in delivering much needed affordable housing. She also pointed out the role that the sector will play in ‘getting Britain building’ and ‘delivering the homes our country needs’.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is set to commit £6 million over a two-year period. The payment of the full allocation from 2019 to 2020 will depend on the full and appropriate defrayal of the £2 million allocations from 2018 to 2019.
Greater support for communities
Community Led Homes is run by the Confederation of Co-operative Housing, Locality, the National Community Land Trust Network and UK Cohousing with the aim of making it easier for communities to access support for building community-led homes.
The National Federation of Builders (NFB) welcomed the announcement which it said will help to diversify the housing market. Richard Beresford, chief executive of the NFB, commented: “The Government is listening to the industry and unlocking important funding for a range of developments. Encouraging community housing is a positive step towards tackling the housing crisis.”
Rico Wojtulewicz, head of housing and planning policy for the House Builders Association (HBA), believes the community housing is ‘win, win’ because it unlocks local development and supports the regional construction supply chain. He added: “After three years of repeating this message to every minister that would listen, it’s great to see the Government grab the housing supply opportunity that community housing offers.”
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