The Autumn 2018 Budget announcement of more strategic partnerships between Homes England and 8 housing associations was very welcome in that it provides a much-needed boost to social housing supply.

The strength of our partnerships, including this deal with Homes England, is something we firmly believe is fundamental to supporting the wellbeing of our current and future customers by addressing housing need in our region. We believe that everyone deserves a place to call home that they can afford, so developing new housing across a range of tenures is high on our agenda.

So how does the Homes England strategic partnership alter what we do and support us in generating new homes to suit the needs and circumstances of local communities?

In headline terms we’ll receive grant totalling £88.2 million which seems like a significant amount. But bear in mind that this must be placed alongside a £750 million investment that we’ll be making in new homes up until 2022. It’ll allow us to start 1,400 additional affordable homes by 2022 and complete an additional 630 new homes on top of our current programme over the same period. This equates to over a 25% increase in our delivery with Homes England. 

Our commitment to developing at social rent levels has been part of our DNA since inception and therefore of our £88.2 million, a significant proportion of the new funding is targeted towards this tenure. It’ll allow us to significantly shift the balance in our forward programme and help relieve housing pressure in our location for those where affordability is a key issue.

If you’re interested in discussing opportunities with us, please contact us.