Housing Minister Kris Hopkins described the £525 million Builders Finance Fund as an essential part of the government’s long term economic plan and said it will accelerate construction on smaller sites, support 15,000 jobs in construction and sustain hundreds of British businesses.
Hopkins said the collapse of the unsustainable housing boom in 2008 had devastated the construction industry, leading to the loss of 250,000 jobs, and a falling market share for the nation’s smaller builders.
Speaking at the Home Builders Federation annual lunch that house building is at its highest level since 2007 and climbing, but the government wants smaller housing schemes to play a bigger role in boosting the supply of new homes.
The new investment will be made available to unlock shovel ready sites between 15 to 250 homes, which have their plans in place and the support of local people, but need a bit of help to get development moving.
All developers will be able to apply for funding, but Hopkins said that the focus on smaller schemes will benefit smaller firms who typically build on these sites. A prospectus has been published to help house builders prepare their bids. Expressions of interest can be submitted to the Homes and Communities Agency from 14 May 2014 and must be in by midday on 25 June 2014.
The meeting heard that almost a million independent firms are involved in the construction industry, accounting for 20% of all small and medium sized companies, and businesses that supply building products have an annual turnover of more than £50 billion, which contributes 4.5% to the UK’s Gross Domestic Product.
‘This government has got Britain building again, and created thousands of jobs in the construction sector. But it has been harder for smaller schemes to come back from the crash of 2008 and, as part of our long term economic plan, we want them to have a bigger role in building homes for the housing market,’ said Hopkins.
‘From today developers can start preparing their bids for a share of £525 million to accelerate development on shovel-ready schemes of 15 to 250 homes. This funding will get workers back on site, support 15,000 jobs across the construction industry, and build thousands of new homes for communities up and down the country,’ he explained.
He said that smaller housing schemes are also benefiting from measures to help homebuyers. Over 1,900 small and medium sized builders have signed up to offer homes through the Help to Buy equity loan scheme which Hopkins said is helping over 20,000 households get on the property ladder.
He also told the meeting that support through the Builders Finance Fund will be on top of £1 billion that has been made available to unlock 250,000 homes on large scale developments with over 1,500 units, and £50 million that will support housing infrastructure and help local enterprise partnerships play a key role in delivering homes in their areas. Both schemes are currently open for bids.
Applicants should have the support of the local community and local authority. Sites must have outline planning consent, including any relevant Section 106 Agreement, in place when they submit their bid. The site must also have an implementable planning consent in place by 31 March 2015, to enable development to commence for the benefit of local people.
The nature and form of schemes that apply for funding is a local matter. The local authority and community should determine the appropriate level of affordable housing, market housing and other uses as part of their wider aspirations for any site. Bidders must confirm that residential properties financed through this Fund will be marketed in the UK.
