Fareham among councils picked to build new starter homes

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

They will be built exclusively for first-time buyers aged between 23 and 40 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 the council Sean Woodward welcomed the announcement.

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

‘It gives younger people a better chance in what is a very difficult housing market.

‘We will be applying for part of the £1.2bn 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 & Communities Agency to identify and take forward further land opportunities for the fund.

Following the announcement, 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.’