Construction sector businesses welcomed the announcement made by the Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister that the government will be making a £2 billion investment for the building of 18,000 new social and affordable homes.

Sites available for development in Manchester and Liverpool may be the first to benefit from the funding, the majority of which will be spent in 2026/27. Projects being helped by the funding will need to have started by March 2027 and finish by June 2029.

The investment is an initial step ahead of more long-term investment that is currently being planned. The government has said they will set out the full funding for 2026/27 and beyond at the Spending Review later in the year.

See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/2-billion-new-investment-to-support-biggest-boost-in-social-and-affordable-housebuilding-in-a-generation

£20 million Investment in Community Housing

The government has announced a £20 million package that will help community land trusts, housing cooperatives and other community groups to build over 2,500 new homes in the next 10 years.

Some advantages of community-led housing projects include having local people locate and design new homes that meet the specific needs of their local area. It is also possible for community groups to access land and be given planning permission in situations where speculative developments cannot.

The investment is aimed at helping achieve the government’s wider homebuilding plans and is being provided at a scale that has not been done before. The funding should help community groups more easily access the housebuilding capital they need for projects.

Community-led housing can deliver much-needed affordable housing in their area and is used more widely in other countries in Europe. It is thought that this could be an under-utilised source of building affordable homes for communities.

The £20 million will be invested in a social finance fund that will be run by Resonance Limited, a social finance company that has experience in supporting the delivery of community-led housing. They will use the investment to attract up to £30 million in match funding from the private sector, local authorities and combined mayoral authorities. It is expected that Resonance will begin making direct investments in schemes over the next few weeks.

Housing and Planning Minister, Matthew Pennycook said: “This investment will help community-based organisations overcome barriers to housing delivery and will support the growth of the community-led housing sector.”

See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-paves-the-way-for-local-people-to-build-more-homes