Kris Hopkins, Housing Minister, has given the thumbs up to an agreement that will see £500m invested into new cost-effective homes throughout the UK.
The investment, which was funded through the European Investment Bank, will help towards the provision of a possible 4,300 new rental homes. The news is a positive, not only for first-time buyers struggling to meet current mortgage demands, but also tradesmen all over the country, such as joiners and builders from the Wirral to Wimbledon.
The finance will be a part of a £3.5bn Government scheme. The Affordable Housing Guarantees scheme ensures that housing associations can benefit from a government guarantee to seek private investment, with improved competitive rates over what they would have received otherwise.
Hopkins said:
“Today’s deal with the European Investment Bank is a vote of confidence in our ongoing efforts to restore confidence to our housing market and get Britain building.
“This £500 million investment will help deliver up to 4,300 new affordable homes across the country, on top of the 170,000 affordable homes we’ve already delivered since 2010.”
The vice president of the European Investment Bank, Jonathan Taylor, commented that the programme will markedly improve affordable housing construction by associations throughout the UK.
He went on to say that the European Investment Bank is only too pleased to collaborate with the Government, as well as veteran housing partners on the programme.
Taylor said that he looks forward to the relationship growing even further throughout the year.
