02.12.16
DCLG injects £45m into 2,000 private rental homes in key cities
More than 2,000 new homes for private rent will be built in Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham after the DCLG announced £45m of funding.
The money, from the new Home Building Fund, will provide 995 homes in Manchester, 744 in Leeds and 323 in Birmingham, and create £400m in development income and up to 1,500 construction jobs.
The development will be led by national developer Dandara Group, which has built more than 2,500 rental homes in the UK, with support from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and HSBC.
Gavin Barwell, the housing and planning minister, said: “Alongside home ownership, we’re determined to create a bigger, better private rental market to offer greater choice for tenants in a country that works for everyone.
“This is one of the largest private rental sector deals in the UK and will not only create thousands of homes for people in Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester – it will create jobs and opportunities for many hundreds of people.”
Cllr Richard Farnell, the lead for planning and housing at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, welcomed the government’s announcement, adding: “I look forward to seeing the full detail of ministers’ plans to boost the number of new homes and jobs across the Northern Powerhouse.”
Sir Edward Lister, chair of the HCA, said that in addition to the “massive investment” announced, the government was “working on a number of other deals” and trying to attract new entrants into the industry.
The DCLG also announced that it will establish a separate agency to carry out the HCA’s regulatory function after concerns over a conflict of interest with its investments.
In last week’s Autumn Statement, chancellor Philip Hammond announced that £7.2bn of the National Infrastructure Productivity Fund will be spent on building new homes.
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