Consortium out to build 3,000 homes across North
THE JV North consortium has submitted a bid to the Homes and Communities Agency to build nearly 3,000 properties under the Shared Ownership Affordable Homes Programme (SOAHP).
Made up of 10 landlords in Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and Preston, the consortium would build the homes in the 2016 and 2021 programme if its application is successful.
JV North’s bid is made up of three tenure types – shared ownership, rent to buy and specialist housing for rent.
JV North chairman, Nigel Wilson, who is also chief executive at Wythenshawe Community Housing Group said: “We are pleased with the scale and breadth of the bid – it reflects our ambition and ability to deliver much-needed homes.
“Clearly the shift to housing for sale as the dominant tenure in this programme has presented significant challenges but members have worked hard through the detail and made it work.
“While we have a demonstrated our appetite to build more, we will be prudent and monitor the situation carefully.
“Shared Ownership is not a product that will work universally in the areas our members operate in so assessing the initial results very carefully will be important.”
JV North has a proven track record of delivering large numbers of housing under Government funded schemes spanning nearly a decade.
It has built the equivalent of one home every working day since it formed in 2007, investing £125,000 daily along the way.
“The government’s challenge is clear and we understand it,” added Wilson.
“The fact remains, however, that in the neighbourhoods we operate in there is a pent up housing demand that we must play our part in meeting.
“Members have made strong partnerships with local authorities – especially in housing, planning and regeneration departments – that helps the consortium to deliver schemes in volume and at pace.
“This is why we have made a confident bid to build thousands of new homes.
“The added value a programme of this scale would create is also significant.
“The consortium has already created thousands of jobs and over 100 apprenticeship places in the 2011/15 and 2015/18 programmes and many more will be offered if our bid is successful.”
In the 2011/15 Affordable Homes Programme JV North built 1,075 properties and is already delivering in the 2015/18 Affordable Homes Programme.
Some 92 homes are now being lived in and a further 618 properties have started on site out of total of 2,172 to be built by the end of March 2018.
