£163 million affordable home fund available to communities

James Brokenshire has launched a new Community Housing Fund to significantly increase the delivery of affordable homes and expand the housing supply through community led sectors.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary said that the £163 million fund will be made available to community-led groups across England to support delivery of new affordable homes up to 31 March 2020, aiming to provide housing that’s affordable for local incomes.

Outside of London, funding is being allocated across two phases by Homes England, while a separate programme for London will be delivered by the Greater London Authority. Phase one of the fund will support applications for revenue grants to assist community groups with the costs involved in the pre-development stage of community-led housing projects. Local authorities can also bid for revenue funding to support capacity-building activities for community-led groups in their areas.

Additionally, local authorities can bid for capital funding for small-scale infrastructure projects, such as roundabouts or pumping stations, to unlock sites that the community can then develop for housing.

Nick Walkley, Homes England chief executive, said: “Community-led housing is about local people playing a leading role in solving local housing problems to provide affordable homes and strengthen communities in ways that aren’t always possible to achieve through mainstream housing. At Homes England, we’re determined to increase the supply of homes across all tenures and increase capacity in the housing sector. This is a really important fund, which will offer lasting impact and we look forward to receiving bids from community groups across England.”

Local authorities or registered providers of social housing may apply on behalf of community groups to support them through this process.