Over 1,600 homes to be built in new £39m scheme

MORE than 1,600 new affordable homes are to be built across the Midlands as part of a new £39m, four-year deal between the Homes and Communities Agency and Waterloo Housing Group.

In Warwickshire, a £10m package to build 450 homes has been agreed for Stratford, Warwick, Bedworth, Rugby and Atherstone.

In Staffordshire, 100 homes costing £2.4m will be delivered by the Leicestershire-based housing group in Cannock, Lichfield and Tamworth.

Further construction programmes will take place across Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottingham and Derbyshire.

The deal is part of a wider programme which will see 13,500 homes built across the Midlands costing £286m and 80,000 homes across England by 2015.

This is the first Midlands contract to be announced by the HCA in the programme with further deals to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

Graham Dobbs, head of Midlands North at the HCA, said: “This agreement is great news as it will see much-needed new homes delivered across the Midlands and make a significant difference to the local communities in which we work.

“Our local teams have worked closely with Waterloo over recent months to ensure that its programme brings the maximum benefit for local people.”