First allocations revealed for £39bn social housing plan

Torus62, Great Places Housing Group, and Onward Homes are among the 33 partner organisations to get a share of £9bn earmarked to support delivery of 70,000 homes as part of the initial phase.

The funding has been allocated to 33 partner organisations, with more than £2bn earmarked to build 20,000 homes outside the capital, while regional authorities will set the strategic direction for the programme.

Today’s announcement fires the starting pistol on a wider government plan to build 300,000 social and affordable homes across the nation, under a Social and Affordable Homes Programme set to run to 2036.

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“Nearly £10bn will go to councils and housing associations to build genuinely affordable homes, most of them for social rent, in the places where families are waiting longest,” said Prime Minister, Andy Burnham.

“Councils built this country out of a housing crisis once before. Backed properly, and trusted to get on with it, they will do it again.”

The largest individual share of regional spending has been allocated to Greater Manchester, with £529m allocated for around 4,400 homes.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Bev Craig, said: “Too many people are stuck on housing waiting lists, living in temporary accommodation, or priced out of the places they call home. With the right support from Government, Greater Manchester can turn the tide on the housing crisis so everyone in our city region has a home that’s the foundation for a good life

“I know first-hand the security that a council house brings. That’s why I welcome this Government’s commitment to deliver a new generation of council, social and genuinely affordable homes.

“Here in Greater Manchester, we want to deliver an ambitious golden era of 50,000 council, social and genuinely affordable homes by 2039, with 10,000 delivered, under construction or in the pipeline by May 2028. Today’s funding announcement is a welcome boost to our plans and shows the difference we can make when Greater Manchester is backed by a national Government determined to fix the national housing crisis.”

Authorities in West and South Yorkshire will receive around £700m to build 6,200 homes. The North East gets £445m, while Liverpool City Region will receive £380m.

Four newly-minted strategic mayoral authorities announced last month in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the East Midlands, West of England, and York and North Yorkshire will also be able to set the strategic direction of programmes in their area.

The government says that more than £16bn remains to be allocated outside London in later phases of the programme, with ministers set to prioritise social rent homes and council housebuilding, which it says will deliver the largest expansion of council housing in decades.

Local authorities will also be able to reinvest all £1.61bn raised through sales of council homes under the Right to Buy scheme in 2025/26.

Outside London, the Social and Affordable Homes Programme is administered by Homes England, with the government’s investment poised to unlock “thousands of much-needed homes across England”, according to chief executive Amy Rees.

The full list of organisations selected is: