£83m boost for house building

Thousands of affordable new homes will be built across England in a bid to get the country back on track after the recession.

More than £4.2 million is to be invested in 256 new homes in Greater Manchester.

The scheme aims to help more families take the first step on the property ladder through the Government’s Home Buy scheme which has already helped 130,000 people. The funding will also safeguard around 1,700 construction jobs.

Housing Minister John Healey has made it a requirement that those receiving funding must provide apprenticeships and opportunities for local workers.

The Minister has already given money to 141 projects which had been put on hold by the recession.

As part of the Government’s drive to make new homes cleaner and greener priority has been given to those schemes which are set to meet high environmental standards.

Mr Healey said: “We’re putting the weight of Government investment into building much-needed affordable homes, keeping people in work and giving young people a chance of apprenticeships.

“That’s why I’m allocating £83 million to get 87 stalled developments across the country up and running again, creating 1,700 jobs and giving more than 2,200 first-time buyers the chance to take an affordable step on to the property ladder.”

More than £3.6 billion has been allocated for housebuilding since June, funding nearly 68,000 new homes, starting the largest council house building programme for two decades and freeing public land for housing.