9,500 affordable homes on the way in region

Housing providers can now apply for a share of the fund, which was allocated an additional £1.4 billion at the Autumn Statement to deliver 40,000 new affordable housing starts across the country.

This means £280m of government funding has been secured for affordable housing in the North West

The Shared Ownership Affordable Housing Programme (SOAHP) will see over 9,500 homes built for either Shared Ownership, Rent to Buy or Specialist Affordable Rent in the North West between 2016 and 2021.

Danielle Gillespie, General Manager of the Homes and Communities Agency in the North West said: “We are very pleased with the response that we have had to the bid round from partners. Historically levels of shared ownership delivery have been lower in this area, but the reaction to the bid round from both existing and new entrants means we will hopefully start to see a step change in the numbers of shared ownership homes coming to the market.

“Rent to Buy and Specialist Rent are also a critical part of the SOAHP 16-21 programme and alongside shared ownership properties, will really help to diversify housing choice across the North West of England.

“Clearly the economic impact of nearly £300m government investment will also be felt positively by North West developers and contractors”.

Associations involved in the programme in Lancashire include the Great Places Housing Group, Adactus Housing, Together Housing , Calico, Contour and Affinity Sutton.