The news came as Prime Minister David Cameron announced an extra £150 million for the Get Britain Building fund, taking the total to £570 million, paving the way for up to 16,000 new homes and supporting over 30,000 construction jobs and more in supply chains.
The Get Britain Building investment fund will get development finance directly to building firms. Funding will be provided through recoverable investments, with the majority being commercial loans, ensuring that money will be returned to be re-invested in other priorities.
The fund was three times over subscribed and the Homes and Communities Agency today has shortlisted the strongest bids from nearly 400, based on value for money, how quickly they will be delivered and the level of local support. The list includes: Marine Wharf, Lewisham, with plans for 189 new homes, Marmaville, Kirklees, with plans for 65 homes, some 42 homes at Bromford Lane, Birmingham, the Royal Mills Phase 2, Ancoats, Manchester, with 128 homes and Finzels Reach, Bristol, with plans for 204 homes.
The successful bids, which include a high proportion of developments by smaller and medium sized builders, will now be thoroughly assessed through due diligence before funding is allocated and formal contracts can be signed.
The £570 million fund is being targeted at commercially viable, shovel ready sites with planning permission already in place to get them building again as soon as possible.
Ministers have already announced a shortlist of 18 difficult stalled sites for a share of the first £45 million of this funding to get them back on track and build 1,300 homes, which will help breathe life back into communities across the country. Some of these key projects are already on track to start building from April 2012.
‘House building is absolutely vital for delivering more growth in the economy, yet hundreds of shovel ready housing developments have been put on ice, because builders lack funds to get work going on site,’ said Shapps.
The £570 million Get Britain Building Fund will help end the deadlock by getting construction back on track for up to 16,000 homes across the country. Already some of our key sites are on track to get started next month, and many more of the 224 projects shortlisted today will be up and running from June, helping to cement our economic recovery,’ he explained.
The announcement today is just one of the range of measures from the Housing Strategy that include: a £4.5 billion Affordable Housing programme set to deliver up to 170,000 new homes over the next four years and the NewBuy Guarantee announced last week which has the potential to enable up to 100,000 prospective and existing homeowners to buy their dream home.
The UK government also plans to release formerly used public land with the capacity for 100,000 new homes by 2015.
