Green light for thousands of starter homes in 2017

Up to 30 local authorities – including Bristol, Greater Manchester and Northumberland – will receive a share of the £1.2 billion Starter Home Land Fund to build the new housing on brownfield sites.

The homes will be constructed for first-time buyers between 23 and 40 years old, and will be sold at a discount of at least 20 per cent below the market value. 

This discount will be applied to homes worth £250,000 outside London, or £450,000 in the capital.

The Starter Home Land Fund, which aims to get first-time buyers on the housing ladder, was first trailed by the coalition government in 2014 before being officially set up in April 2016.

Local authorities will also work closely with the Homes and Communities Agency to ’take forward further land opportunities’ with the fund.

Housing Minister Gavin Barwell said: ’This government is committed to building starter homes to help young first time buyers get on the housing ladder.

‘This first wave of partnerships shows the strong local interest to build thousands of starter homes on hundreds of brownfield sites in the coming years. One in three councils has expressed an interest to work with us so far.’

In addition, the Homes and Communities Agency has called on local authorities to express their interest in using land for the accelerated construction of 15,000 homes by the end of this parliament using a £1.7 billion fund.

The announcements form part of the government’s commitment to building one million new homes by 2020. 

A housing white paper further detailing the government’s housing plans is expected later this month.