Some £886m in affordable homes funding has been made available to 160 housing providers across England, according to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
Initial allocations from the HCA’s 2015-18 Affordable Homes Programme are expected to deliver 43,821 new affordable residences across 2,697 schemes.
The Government is aiming to have delivered 165,000 new affordable homes by March 2018.
Funding announced today is just under half of the total £1.7bn pot available to housing providers, with bidding for the remaining cash set to open in due course via a Continuous Market Engagement Process.
HCA chief executive Andy Rose said: ‘We have set in place a solid delivery programme that will ensure a smooth transition from our current Affordable Homes Programme, and that delivery can start promptly.
‘The allocations announced today are closely aligned with locally identified priorities and offer value for money and increased certainty of delivery, with over 75% of the homes we are funding on firm schemes.
‘This is a strong foundation that we are putting in place today, which puts us on track to make a significant contribution towards Government’s aspirations.’
Recently appointed housing minister Brandon Lewis said: ‘Housebuilding is an essential part of this Government’s long-term economic plan. That’s why we have designed an ambitious new scheme to build affordable homes at the fastest rate for 20 years, which will support 165,000 jobs in construction and sustain thousands of small businesses.
‘Our programme will use the latest construction technology to deliver high-quality homes, helping to transform the way we build in Britain, and providing homes where future generations will want to live and raise families of their own.’
