James Brokenshire
The government has confirmed that it is to invest nearly £1.7bn in 23,000 new affordable homes.
The government investment deal will include at least 12,500 social rent homes in high-cost areas, in a bit to support families struggling to pay their rent.
The funding is part of the government’s £9bn investment in affordable homes, £1.7bn of which was announced in March 2017 for London. This latest funding will deliver homes across the rest of the country.
Communities secretary James Brokenshire also invited local authorities to bid for a share of £1bn extra borrowing to build new council homes, to be split equally between London and the rest of England.
These new measures are part of the government’s plans to build 1.5 million new homes by 2022 through planning reform and targeted investment.
Brokenshire said: "The government has ambitious plans to fix the broken housing market and build the homes our communities need. Today’s announcement is a further milestone. It will secure the delivery of an additional 23,000 much-needed affordable homes as well as paving the way for a new generation of council houses."
A bidding process will now begin for both programmes, with successful bids for the affordable homes funding notified throughout the year.
