HCA unveils 2 year house building programme

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) have said that £13.6billion would be invested into housing and plans to deliver 117,000 new homes in England by March 2011.

Unveiling the two year plan this week

HCA chief executive, Sir Bob Kerslake, said: “This Plan sets out our stall for the next two years. We will continue to put a premium on new and affordable homes, but we are about building communities as well so regeneration, improving existing stock and promoting sustainability will also be critically important.

“We will continue to be creative in identifying new forms of funding and new opportunities for delivery. Despite the continued challenging market conditions and tightening public finances, we are determined to deliver on our targets.

“The HCA has a far wider remit than its predecessors, touching on every walk of life, and this is reflected in the breadth and scope of our Plan. The advantages of a single national housing and regeneration agency are already coming through and will become stronger over the period of this Plan.”

The Agency plans to spend £6.75billion between April 2009 to March 2011, directly delivering 117,000 new homes, the vast majority of which will be for affordable rent or sale.

Within the affordable housing budget, over 63,000 of the new homes will be for social rent with nearly 43,000 for affordable sale via HomeBuy. An additional £350million will be available to local councils to build new homes for social rent.

The HCA also wants to create 319,000 sq m of employment floorspace to help create new jobs; and to bring an area equivalent to 1000 football pitches of brownfield land back into productive use.

Nearly £1.7billion will be spent bringing council stock up to a 21st century standard via the Decent Homes Programme and a further £918million will be invested in infrastructure, including in the Thames Gateway. The 12 Housing Market Renewal areas will see investment of £657million.