STAFFORD MP IS GLAD TO SEE COUNCIL HOUSE-BUILDING IS BACK

Housing Minister John Healey today gave the green light for work to begin building over 2,000 new council homes that will help create over 5,000 jobs in the construction industry. Work will begin on the first sites before the end of the year and John Healey will announce a second wave of successful schemes in the autumn.

Although the first bids did not include any affecting his Stafford constituency, Stafford’s MP, David Kidney says the news is most welcome:

“Despite the recession this is the biggest council house building programme for almost two decades. 47 councils, covering every region of England, will receive a share of £127m Government funding to help build these homes. Over £8 million of this money will be spent in the West Midlands.

“The new council homes given the go ahead today will be built to standards well above those required by building regulations, helping to cut CO2 emissions and reduce energy bills for the families that live in them.

“Today’s major cash injection is part of the Prime Minister’s £1.5bn Housing Pledge announced in Building Britain’s Future in June. This commitment to housing will help build the homes the country needs, get people into construction jobs and help the country through the recession.”

The funding comes on top of the ‘Kickstart’ cash announced by John Healey in July to get building work on hundreds of stalled housing developments back on track.

It also follows action taken by John Healey to change the council housing finance system and give local authorities greater leeway to manage their allocations and waiting lists. Together, these moves will allow councils more freedom to better meet housing needs in their communities.

All of the schemes put forward were subject to tough testing. They had to represent value for money, help meet specific local housing needs and be able to begin construction before March 2010.