£24m made available in loan funding for new homes drive

The Welsh Government has made £24m available in loan funding to unlock land for housing development as part of a drive to build more than 600 new homes across Wales.

The funding supports the acquisition of land for both social and market housing developments.

It will help ensure that development opportunities are not missed, by often providing support before construction grant funding becomes available.

When construction funding is secured, the loan is repaid and reinvested into new projects, creating what the government describes as “a sustainable cycle of housing development”.

Grangetown

Wales & West Housing previously received £3m in loan funding towards the acquisition of land in Grangetown, Cardiff. This was followed by £10m in grant funding to develop 100 homes for affordable social rent.

The Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant, recently visited the development at Ffordd Yr Haearn, where she met tenants who moved into their new homes following phased completion between September 2021 and autumn 2022.

The site delivers a mix of accommodation, responding to the local demand for family housing. It is also strategically located near the city centre, with excellent access to local amenities and services.

The Cabinet Secretary said: “I’m incredibly proud of how our Land for Housing scheme is making a real difference to people’s lives across Wales.

“When we invest in schemes like this, we’re not simply buying land – we’re investing in brighter futures for hundreds of people.

“I was so pleased to meet the residents at Ffordd yr Haearn and see firsthand how this funding has created not just houses, but genuine communities where people can put down roots.”

“The scheme has also been instrumental in helping to build a strong pipeline of land sites, many of which contribute to our ambitious goal of 20,000 new low carbon social homes during this Senedd term.”

Family homes

Stuart Epps, Executive Director for Finance, Assets and Development at Wales & West Housing, said; “Ffordd Yr Haearn was the first scheme of affordable homes for rent where we applied for loan funding under the Land for Housing scheme.

“At Ffordd Yr Haearn we’ve been able to provide 100 homes to almost 350 residents, giving families a firm foundation to build healthy, happy lives.

“At the time, in 2018, the loan allowed us to buy the site and design our development to meet the needs of the Grangetown community. One of the key things the community needed was safe and secure family homes with gardens, for life. So, we have been able to provide 52 houses with outdoor space as well as 48 flats.

“We’ve used this funding for a number of housing developments across Wales in recent years. Having these loans from Welsh Government is beneficial as it allows housing providers to buy land, freeing up other money that we can invest in building and planning more homes.”