£7m earmarked form stalled housing schemes
More than 500 homes across Greater Birmingham which had stalled through lack of cash are set to be completed by the end of 2018 following a £7m funding injection.
The Unlocking Stalled Housing Sites Programme (USHSP), funded by the Government’s Local Growth Fund, has approved the funding to support the delivery of new homes across Greater Birmingham over the next 12 months.
The approved funding is set to see the completion of 550 homes before the end of 2018, beating the programme’s initial target of reaching 500 properties by the end of 2019.
Delivered by Finance Birmingham on behalf of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP), the fund helps developers access grant and loan finance for stalled sites. The USHSP supports mixed tenure schemes of between 10 and 100 homes.
Key areas benefiting from the programme include Cannock Chase, where half of the total approved investments have been allocated to schemes delivering between 10 to 14 homes.
Other supported projects include a 24-home development on the Windward Way Industrial Estate in Solihull, being delivered by the North Solihull Partnership, and a 40-home site set to complete in January by Daisytame.
Minister for Local Growth, Jake Berry, said: “Government’s Growth Deal Funding is continuing to spur transformative investment in the housing sector. These multi-million pound investments are delivering hundreds of new homes for the community while giving a major boost to house-builders. We will continue to support innovative programmes which are breaking down the barriers to growth and providing the right financial tools for developments to flourish.”
Simon Marks, Board Director for Optimising Assets at the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP, said: “While the demand for affordable housing continues to grow, many contractors are still struggling to get sites off the ground and keep up supply. Since the launch of the GBSLEP’s USHSP in 2016, we’ve helped to get things moving and this latest milestone is evidence of how well received the fund has been.
“We’re more than delivering on our targets as a result of the funding approved so far and with more projects in the pipeline and funding still available, we’re aiming to make a significant contribution to the housing supply across the patch in the coming years. We urge all developers experiencing challenges to get in touch to discuss their options.”
Paul Halford, Investment Director for the Unlocking Stalled Housing Sites Programme at Finance Birmingham, said the collaboration with the LEP was paying dividends.
“Through our collaboration with the GBSLEP we’ve worked hard to connect ambitious developers with the finance needed to increase the rate of housing delivery and more importantly get people into new homes,” he said.
“From tackling land remediation issues to supporting with wider viability of sites, the USHSP is driving projects forward and we’re pleased that we’re on track to beat our initial targets. There is still work to be done and with a further £2m still available we will continue to help more developers across the region to deliver.”
