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First Wave of SAHP Funding Released
The government has announced funding for more than 70,000 new social and affordable homes, with funding allocated over six key regions. Forming part of the wider 10-year plan for the £ 39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has made his position on housing clear in his first few weeks in power – but is clarity enough to allow the industry to move to action?
The allocation comes after Andy Burnham recently discussed intentions to allocate the funds fully to social housing, a plan that has yet to be implemented but is still in the Prime Ministers sights for further funding. 60 % of the 70,000 homes funded through the first SAHP wave are marked for social housing, with housing minister Matthew Pennycook telling BBC breakfast that the next wave of funding will be more focused on council housing. According to the BBC, it is understood that the decision to give less funding to councils in the first wave of funding was due to doubts over councils currently capacity to deliver the homes needed.
Burnham has positioned housing as central to the aims of his government, citing ending rough sleeping as the first pledge of his tenure as Prime Minister. He also promised to lead the biggest council housebuilding boom since the post-war era, backing social housing as the most efficient path towards turning back the UK’ s housing crisis.
NHBC’ s Charlie Ash, Sector Lead for Housing Associations said:“ The government’ s announcement of the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme( SAHP) today, with the allocation of nearly £ 10 billion to deliver 70,000 homes across England will be warmly welcomed by local councils, housing associations and other providers.
“ This kind of focused regional funding, aimed at the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North East England and Liverpool is essential to help reduce the critical need for affordable homes across
England. We might have expected the proportion of the funding allocation for social rent homes to be higher – at least 60 percent was announced – as previously the PM has called for all funding to be spent on social rent homes.
“ This funding gives RPs greater visibility over their development pipelines, much-needed certainty and will allow for better long-term planning, which is brilliant news. We need to think in decades and plan ahead for population growth and changes in demographics as people live longer and more people live alone than in previous generations.
“ The new guidance for the delivery of Section 106 homes, launched to help reverse the downward trend we’ ve seen in recent years, is particularly welcome and represents a significant turning point for housing association development. It’ s essential housing providers are empowered to bid for these homes and that Section 106 allocations remain financially viable for both the provider and the developer.
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