Housing boost will help more people buy a home and create thousands of jobs
Multi-billion pound package will boost house building, create new jobs and help aspiring homeowners buy a home.
New measures will help hard-working people realise their home owning aspirations, support the construction of thousands of homes and give a boost to businesses eager to grow and provide jobs.
Yesterday’s Budget confirmed that the Help to Buy equity loan scheme will help up to 120,000 more households purchase a new build home by being extended to 2020. The scheme has so far helped more than 25,000 households to buy or reserve a home and currently supports up to 30% of all new build homes in England.
To help support a major new development around Ebbsfleet, Kent, £200 million will be made available to provide up to 15,000 new homes on existing brownfield land, and a Builders Finance Fund will help small and medium sized developers tap into the potential of smaller sites to build smaller housing schemes.
Self builders were given a boost from £150 million to help establish serviced building plots and proposals for a new ‘right to build’ which provides a right to a plot from councils.
And the high street will benefit from proposals that will make it easier for shops to provide more parking and to change between a wider range of retail uses without needing time consuming paperwork.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said:
This year’s Budget shows how house building is central to our long-term economic plan, with measures to get Britain building and support to help hard-working people realise their dream of home ownership.
This multi-billion package will boost house building, particularly on brownfield land, create new jobs and allow up to an additional 120,000 aspiring homeowners to buy a home.
The moves will get workers back on site across the country, including at large sites like Ebbsfleet, help smaller builders to restart work on stalled developments, and make sure people who want to build their own home can.
Measures in the Budget will:
Help hard-working people to have a home of their own
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The Help to Buy equity loan scheme will be extended to 2020 by the investment of £6 billion to enable an estimated additional 120,000 people to purchase their own home. This is in addition to the £3.7 billion which is supporting 74,000 people into home ownership by March 2016.
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A new ‘right to move’ for existing social tenants to help increase their mobility by making it easier to move for work.
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A new ‘right to build’ which would give self builders a right to a plot from councils and establish a £150 million Custom Homes Service Plots fund, to support the provision of up to 10,000 new serviced building plots for custom builders.
Get Britain building again
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A £525 million Builders Finance fund will help small and medium sized developers access finance to support the delivery of housing schemes of between 15 and 250 units.
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An Estate Regeneration fund will provide £150 million to help kick start and accelerate the regeneration of housing estates.
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We will work with the local councils to set up an urban development corporation, to accelerate the delivery of up to 15,000 new homes and commercial opportunities in Ebbsfleet.
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We will also publish a garden settlements prospectus by Easter for areas keen to bring forward locally-led proposals for more housing.
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We will work with the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority on proposals to unlock the construction of 11,000 new homes at Barking Riverside.
Support businesses to grow and create jobs
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Red tape will be cut for businesses through a review of permitted development which will look at making a wider ‘retail’ use class to provide greater flexibly for businesses looking to adapt or expand, and to make it simpler to convert underused warehouses into residential use.
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We will introduce a series of measures to improve the process for getting major infrastructure projects underway and respond to a consultation on allowable solutions for zero carbon homes.
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Cities and local areas will be supported in attracting new businesses and creating jobs, with a £100 million Cambridge City Deal to support infrastructure and housing proposals. And tax incentives for businesses in Enterprise Zones are being extended in order to allow more businesses to take advantage of the benefits on offer.
Provide better local services for people and support stronger communities
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The Troubled Families programme is being accelerated to help up to 40,000 further families with long-standing complex problems turn around their lives sooner.
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Our work with other government departments will benefit from £10 million to work with the Scouts, Guides and other youth organisations including Youth United. £20 million to renovate cathedrals, £140 million for flood defences and £200 million to help councils tackle potholes.
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