UK INDUSTRY NEWS Lloyds Banking Group and Homes England Announce Further Housing Funding
The Government will continue to support Home England’s investment in the Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) by committing to a further £60 million, which will be matched by Lloyds Banking Group. Nearly two years after the initial investment was made by both parties. Established in 2015, HGP has already committed to deliver circa 2000 homes across 35 sites in the UK by partnering with small and medium-sized builders who cannot easily access development finance. HGP is a social impact investor backed by Lloyds Bank and Homes England to help address housing affordability by providing support to the regional residential development community to increase the number of new homes built in the UK. The combined investment builds on the previous £100 million from Lloyds and Homes England and will help partners to deliver around £1 billion of new homes by summer 2019. It also provides ongoing security to a number of firms for their funding and the opportunity to support more builders across the UK. Beyond access to funding, the HGP’s partners have benefitted from 1,500 hours of mentoring to help support sustainable growth in housing delivery. Andy Hulme, CEO and Head of Fund for
Housing Grown Partnership at Lloyds said: “The announcement of further funding marks another significant milestone in the evolution of the Housing Growth Partnership. This supports our core purpose of accelerating the delivery of homes across the UK through our partnerships with small and mid-sized housebuilders.” Nick Walkley, Chief Executive of Homes England (pictured) added: “The Housing Growth Partnership shows what is achieved when we partner with the private sector and double the amount of capital available to lend to SMEs, offering excellent value for money for the tax payer. Homes England is harnessing Lloyds commercial skills and contacts and our investment capital to provide a new source of funding for SME developers who will then build more than 3,400 new additional homes in England.” Homes England will act differently from its predecessor, bringing together money, land, expertise and planning and compulsory purchase powers to accelerate the supply of new homes and address affordability issues in areas of highest demand. Source: www.gov.uk/government/ organisations/homes-england
Fab Houses for North Shields What was once a shipyard is being transformed into a beautiful place to live with help of TV architect George Clarke. Smith’s Dock in North Shields is undergoing a transformation into a vibrant new riverside neighbourhood. A row of ten two-storey modular townhouses been designed in collaboration with North-East architect and Channel 4 television presenter George Clarke and TDO Architecture. The design is exclusive to Smith’s Dock, Places for People and Urban Splash, the joint venture partnership redeveloping Smith’s Dock, that have just launched the sale with prices starting at £225,000. “What we’re creating here are proper family homes – homes that are spacious, well-planned and will encourage family living,” says George Clarke. “The plans for the whole area make for a wonderful community. Smith’s Dock is an important historic site and the development is the epitome of true regeneration – with diverse home designs, sensitively designed public spaces and the reopening of the stunning waterfront. When complete, Smith’s Dock is going to be a great neighbourhood to live in and I’m proud that my Fab House design is part of it.” Each of the Fab Houses has been created using offsite, modular technology. Each Fab House has three bedrooms and 930sq ft of living space, with heating, lighting and hot water all controlled by an app. Explaining his reasons for adopting offsite construction, George adds: “Smith’s Dock was the perfect place to
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show how we can raise the standards of UK homes by adopting innovative modular construction. Innovative building and manufacturing technology have been a fundamental part of the Smith’s Dock site for years through shipbuilding, so for me it was so important that we adopt these same principles on the site for 21st century homebuilding. I’ve been fascinated by the benefits of modular construction for a very long time. I believe that in a country that unfortunately has too many poorly-designed and badly-built homes, this was an obvious route to take.”
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Guy Ackernley of Urban Splash, says that having launched the first homes at Smith’s Dock last summer, the company was delighted to unveil George’s Fab Houses. “I know there’s been a keen appetite amongst buyers to see these designs and I can’t wait to share the finished product now that we are open for viewings.” Source: www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/