Watford Community Housing has secured £3.3m in funding from Homes England, to help deliver its ambitious social housing programme with Watford Borough Council.
Working in partnership, the two organisations are planning to deliver 55 new homes for social rent in 2019, as part of a shared ambition to boost the provision of social housing in Hertfordshire.
As one of the first programmes to receive a grant from Homes England to develop properties for social rent within this round of funding, it will provide new homes that are truly affordable housing for people in the South-east.
Watford Community Housing and Watford Borough Council are working closely together and pooling resources in order to bring more affordable housing to Watford. Through Hart Homes — their joint venture development company — the housing association and local authority are already delivering affordable homes in the local area. However, with Elected Mayor Peter Taylor and Watford Community Housing sharing a vision to see more social housing built in the town, further funding has been sought from Homes England — which will allow new homes to be built for social rent.
Watford Community Housing and Watford Borough Council will develop 55 new social homes across a number of locations, including seven former garage sites. The homes will comprise a mixture of two- and three-bedroom flats and houses. Additional funding will also allow three homes at a current Watford Community Housing development to be converted from market rent to social rent, bringing the overall total of new homes for social rent to 58. The new developments are scheduled to start on site in spring 2019.
Gareth Lewis, Group Director of Partnerships for Watford Community Housing, said of the proposals: “We are absolutely delighted to have received funding to provide a significant amount of social housing in Watford. We are committed to delivering high-quality homes across a range of tenures, to ensure that they are genuinely affordable for residents. The additional funding from Homes England helps us to maximise the number of homes that we can provide for social rent through our partnership with Watford Borough Council. We hope that these new homes will give local people the chance to live in a home that really meets their needs.”
Elected Mayor Peter Taylor added: “I am determined that Watford remains a town for everyone. One of my manifesto commitments is to work with Watford Community Housing to build new social and affordable homes. This extra funding from Homes England will help us provide homes for Watford families who really need them the most.”
