Community housing fund
The Community Housing Fund was announced in the 2016 Spring Budget and officially launched in December 2016. It is a £300 million fund which is intended to help nearly 150 councils tackle high levels of second home ownership in their communities.
Intended to last five years until 2021, the Fund aims to give community groups the chance to assume ownership of housing matters, helping them deliver affordable housing aimed at first-time buyers, and to reinvest in other activities or services which will benefit the local area. It expects an additional 13,000 homes to be built by 2021.
Almost £20m – one-third of the funding – is to be allocated to South Western local authorities, this being the region with the highest second home ownership (21%).
In November 2017, then-Housing Minister, Alok Sharma confirmed the Fund would continue for the next four years, launching a new programme of funding worth £60 million in the first year. A significant amount of the funding will go towards developing an advisory network that supports community groups to bring forward projects. (Ref. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/community-led-housing)
In July 2018, a new £163m fund was announced for community-led groups across England to support delivery of new affordable homes up to the end of March 2020. It is intended to expand housing supply through community-led sectors and build 'an effective body of expertise within the housebuilding industry'.
Funding outside London is to be allocated by Homes England across two phases. The Greater London Authority will deliver a separate programme for London. This is in addition to the £60m of funding already allocated to 148 councils in December 2016.
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