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Less than 15% of £163m Community Housing Fund allocated as deadline looms
Just £21.1m of the government’s £163m Community Housing Fund has been allocated less than a month before the deadline for bids passes, Inside Housing can reveal.
As of 4 December, 194 applications had been successfully allocated a share of the fund, while nine were unsuccessful and 81 were still pending decisions.
According to data obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request, the biggest share of funding went to housing co-operative Homes for Wells with £584,433, followed by £570,000 for Peak District Rural Housing Association and £535,000 for Bristol City Council.
Other successful bidders included City of York Council (£31,425), Hull City Council (£45,943), Manchester Urban CoHousing (£85,950) and Granby 4 Streets Community Land Trust (£135,634).
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In February, the National Community Land Trust Network warned that the fund, which was first announced in 2016, could be “seriously underallocated” due to delays in the bidding process opening.
Bidding did not open until July 2018 and will close at the end of this month, meaning the fund is open for just 18 months. This comes after initial expectations that it would be worth £60m annually for five years when it was first announced.
Successful bidders have until March 2020 to meet certain payment milestones, which must be achieved if they are to receive all of their allocated funding.
To receive 100% of the grant allocated to them, bidders will need to have developed housing proposals, with building control consent established and detailed drawings produced.
The Community Housing Fund is available to groups that want to develop their own homes, typically through CLTs or housing co-operatives.
Funding is also available to local authorities that wish to support such activity – for example, through employing staff or providing support and information.
Homes England, which is administering the fund, said it was unable to comment due to the upcoming general election.
