The Government is set to announce a £400 million fund to kick-start housebuilding in a bid to solve Britain’s housing crisis.
David Cameron and Nick Clegg will pledge to break the “current cycle in which lenders won’t lend, builders can’t build and buyers can’t buy” when they unveil the Government’s housing strategy.
That will mean people who “play by the rules” can “expect to own a decent home of their own”, they insist.
The £400 million Get Britain Building fund will target housebuilding schemes that have stalled through a lack of development finance.
It is set to “unlock” the construction of up to 16,000 homes and around 3,200 of those would be affordable properties, Downing Street said.
The cash injection would also support up to 32,000 jobs, according to officials.
It comes on top of a £500 million Growing Places Fund for development announced earlier this month, No 10 said.
The Laying the Foundations: a housing strategy for England report is also expected to set out details on a range of other policies to revive the industry and solve the homes shortage, including allowing first-time buyers to get bigger mortgages and boosting right-to-buy council home discounts.
Measures to end the “national scandal” of homes lying empty and to improve the quality of housing for older people will also be announced.
And the strategy will set out plans to make high earners living in social housing pay market rates, as well as guidelines for local authorities over large scale developments.
In a joint forward to the report, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister said: “One of the most important things each generation can do for the next is to build high quality homes that will stand the test of time. But for decades in Britain we have under-built.
“By the time we came to office, house building rates had reached lows not seen in peace-time since the 1920s.
“The economic and social consequences of this failure have affected millions: costing jobs; forcing growing families to live in cramped conditions; leaving young people without much hope that they will ever own a home of their own.
“These problems - entrenched over decades - have deepened over the past few years. The housing market is one of the biggest victims of the credit crunch: lenders won’t lend, so builders can’t build and buyers can’t buy.
“That lack of confidence is visible in derelict building sites and endless For Sale signs. It is doing huge damage to our economy and our society, so it is right for Government to step in and take bold action to unblock the market.
“This is a radical and unashamedly ambitious strategy - and it has two main aims. First, to help drive local economies and create jobs. Unblocking the market will provide a much-needed boost to employment. Second, these plans are designed to spread opportunity in our society.
“For too long, millions have been locked out of home ownership. We want to build an economy that works for everyone, one in which people who work hard and play by the rules can expect to own a decent home of their own. This goes right to the heart of what this Government is about.
“With this strategy, we will unlock the housing market, get Britain building again, and give many more people the satisfaction and security that comes from stepping over their own threshold. These plans are ambitious - but we are determined to deliver on them.”
