Government grants £20m for affordable housing in the South of England

The contract, between the Wayfarer Partnership and the HCA, involves a four year agreement to deliver the homes with over £20 million funding from the HCA - making it the largest HCA contract to be delivered in the south of England. 

The bid was led by Radian Housing Group and includes a further five housing associations based in the south, which together form the Wayfarer Partnership. 

A large proportion of the grant will go to Hampshire, which will see partners deliver around 1,300 new homes in the county. The remainder of the homes will be spread across Surrey and Berkshire and new schemes will be agreed for Sussex, Wiltshire and Dorset. 

The contract also provides for the provision of homes for older people, with 165 homes being delivered in Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey.

 The HCA aims to help build more than 12,700 new homes across the south and south west, with investments of more than £240m as part of the AHP. House prices are reported to be more than 12 times the average local salaries in some areas, according to HCA figures. 

The HCA aims to deliver 80,000 new affordable homes across England by 2015, it says.