Half a billion pounds of Government loans have been made available to 165 ‘stalled’ smaller housing developments, as part of efforts to boost construction.
Communities secretary Eric Pickles this morning announced the shortlist of developments that could benefit from a share of the £525m Builders Finance Fund, which is designed to get construction back underway.
Developers will repay the loans once the properties are completed and sold. It is thought work on almost 13,000 new homes will be restarted under this first wave of support.
‘Thanks to the Builders Finance Fund, work will get started on over 160 sites across the country that had been brought to a standstill by the 2008 housing crash,’ Pickles said.
The fund is designed to ‘unlock’ sites delivering between 15 and 250 homes, with five sites in this latest wave reaching the upper limit.
Chancellor George Osborne said: ‘I am pleased to see progress with the Builders Finance Fund, which will help unlock thousands of stalled housing units by providing house builders with access to finance.
‘The Government’s long term economic plan is supporting businesses who are creating job opportunities, and in this case, building homes for hard working taxpayers up and down the country.’