The new affordable homes announced today, take the total up to 1,596 funded by the Combined Authority, meaning it is over 75% of the way towards fulfilling its ambition to create 2,000 new affordable homes by March 2022.
As part of its devolution deal in 2017, the Combined Authority negotiated £100m of government funding for affordable housing, with a commitment to fund 2,000 homes by 2022.
The new affordable homes which have been announced across five sites are:
- 20 shared ownership homes with Heylo Housing site at Roman Fields, Paston, Peterborough.
- 94 affordable homes, including 65 affordable rent and 29 shared ownership, with Man GPM site at Alconbury Weald, Alconbury.
- 90 affordable homes in March Town Centre over 3 sites 70 affordable rent and 20 shared ownership, with Funding Affordable Homes HA.
- 64 affordable homes, a mixture of social rented and shared ownership, at RAF Upwood, Huntington, with Evera
- 28 affordable rented units in Stanground, Peterborough
The Combined Authority has been working with housing developers on a range of solutions including interest-free loans and joint ventures to encourage them to keep building affordable homes for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Mayor James Palmer said: “I am absolutely delighted that even in the most challenging of times, we can deliver hundreds of new affordable homes across Peterborough, Huntingdon and the Fens, which are so sorely needed.
“No doubt, the world has been changed by the Covid-19 virus but it hasn’t stopped turning, and we will continue to plan for the future in bringing forward thousands of affordable homes for residents over the coming years.
“I am absolutely committed to leading the economic recovery of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Making sure that people have homes they can afford is a fundamental cornerstone to our ambition to build back better.”
The Combined Authority looks for innovative ways to maximise the impact of the £100 million of resource it has been awarded by central government.
This includes using £40m as a groundbreaking ‘revolving’ fund, which grants loans to developers to enable affordable housing construction. The interest on these loans is then added to the fund, making it self-sustaining.