Network Housing Group has secured £5.65 million of combined funding from the Homes and Community Agency (HCA) and Newham Council to provide an additional 30 family homes under its innovative purchase and repair (P&R) programme. This new tranche of funding will bring the total number of homes which the group has provided under the programme in Newham to 100.
The programme has seen Network take advantage of low house prices to buy three and four bedroom family properties on the open market. It then carries out essential renovations and improvements such as rewiring, fitting new kitchens, bathrooms and boilers and some redecoration in order to bring the homes up to industry standards before they become available to residents under Newham’s Quality Homes programme.
The group has recently worked on a series of purchase and repair projects that has seen it provide 67 family homes across the London boroughs of Lambeth, Harrow, Hillingdon and Richmond. Funding is in place and work is underway to supply a further 38 properties in Richmond and Kingston.
Since Network launched the programme in Newham in November 2009 30 homes have been completed and occupied, 10 have been bought and are currently undergoing renovation and a further 30 are in the acquisition stages.
With the new funding in place 30 additional homes will be bought and renovated by Network, 20 of which will be ready for occupation by March 2011 and the final 10 by July 2011. As with all of Network’s properties in Newham these will be managed by Mitali Housing Association, which is part of Network Housing Group.
Assistant development director Elaine Parker said: “The announcement of this additional funding package is really good news for Newham families and shows just how successful the P&R programme has been in providing high quality family homes.
“As one of Newham’s preferred partners for affordable housing, we’re in the fortunate position of being able to make a real difference to people’s lives and this is an opportunity we relish. Above all we’re providing the type of homes that people really want and realising people’s dreams of living in a house with a garden.”
Councillor Andrew Baikie, Newham Council’s executive member for housing, said: “We are dedicated to delivering well maintained social housing, low cost council assisted home ownership and better standards in the private rented sector. We will continue to work with developers and registered social landlords to deliver affordable housing, and routes into home ownership which puts the aspirations of local people first.”
This article is reproduced courtesy of 24Dash.
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