Fareham council part of £1.2bn scheme for cheap starter homes

The £1.2bn scheme announced by housing minister Gavin Barwell this morning means that Fareham council could receive financial support for dozens of new homes.

They will be built exclusively for first-time buyers between 23 and 40-years-old at a discount of at least 20 per cent below market value.

The first wave of 30 local authority partnerships - selected on the basis of their potential for early delivery – will spearhead schemes.

Leader of Fareham Borough Council Sean Woodward welcomed the announcement.

He said: ‘It is a great scheme for young Fareham residents to achieve home ownership.

‘We will be applying for part of the funding to build dozens of homes in Fareham town centre and Portchester district centre.

‘I hope to see some of them built this year with the Starter Homes fund paying for the whole development.

‘It is for brownfield sites in the town centre and at Portchester which already have access to train stations, schools, transport and shops.

‘It makes these developments very sustainable.’

Each local authority partnership will work closely with the Homes and Communities Agency to identify and take forward further land opportunities for the fund.

Mr 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.’