Affordable Housing

• 1914 units approved since the start of the project
• 694 starts on site and 237 units completed to date
• On target for 2,500 new affordable home start on site by March 2022

The affordable housing programme is on track to deliver 2000 new affordable houses by March 2022.

Of the £100 million fund, £60 million has been set aside for grant funding and £40m has been allocated as investment in housing delivery initiatives that seek to recycle the funding instead, known as the £40 million revolving fund.

£35 million is currently employed as loan funding and the funds are recycled and re-invested into other housing opportunities, including joint ventures.

The Revolving Fund concept is a Mayoral innovation that we believe is unique to the Combined Authority, as most Affordable Housing Programmes focus solely of distributing grant funding.

A wholly owned subsidiary company, Angle Developments (East) Limited, has been established which will enable the Combined Authority to deliver its own projects and enter into joint ventures with other public sector partners and developers that are focussed on accelerating housing delivery.

The Housing team are developing partnerships with a range of organisations to ensure the Combined Authority can award grants to registered providers and not-for-profit organisations to bring forward development.

The key partners to the £40 million revolving fund element of the programme are developers utilising loan funding, joint venture developers that aspire to deliver affordable housing, and partner authorities who want to explore developing surplus assets from their portfolios.

Cambridge City Council is best placed to deliver the £70 million Affordable Housing Programme. The Combined Authority maintains overarching accountability for the programme, even though the primary decision-making and governance of the programme sits with the Cambridge City Executive and its Scrutiny functions.

The additional housing that is being built will provide affordable, shared ownership and socially rented units for people across the region.

New affordable housing, including large developments such as Northstowe will also help establish a larger and wider housing base to support the economic growth of the area, whereas growth in existing market towns across the Combined Authority such as March and Whittlesea will enhance this.