UK new-build set for £83m boost

The completion of a whopping 5,696 new homes is to be made possible by a £83m injection into 87 stalled developments by the Homes and Communities Agency.

The schemes were selected from a list of 265 UK schemes, which were shortlisted for the second funding round under the HCA’s Kick Start initiative.

Of the 5,696 new homes to be unlocked, 3,503 will be affordable, with 2,193 expected to be made available through HomeBuy Direct, 345 through the HCA’s Low Cost Home Ownership routes and 802 for social rent.

Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the HCA, says: “With over 6,000 new and affordable homes now on their way to being completed through round 1 of the Kickstart programme, this second round of funding will help many more schemes get back on track.

“The due diligence process for selecting these successful projects has been rigorous, assessing factors such as value for money, local fit, demand and sustainability to help ensure the homes meet the needs of the people who will live in them.”

The second round of funding announced today is in addition to £425m allocated through round one to deliver a total of over 6,000 new homes across 141 mothballed schemes that have been helped to restart on site. 

Click here for a complete list of the schemes being kick-started with the second round of funding.

The news follows Taylor Wimpey's full-year results announcement for 2009 in which it revealed that its volume of home completions declined by 24% to 10,186 during the 12 months to December 31, with the average selling price having slipped by 16% to £824m. The house builder reported pre-tax losses of £700m, which is down 65% from £1.97bn year-on-year.

This compares to rival Persimmon, which last week reported a pre-tax of £77.8m, which is its first annual profit announcement since 2007.

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