Millions handed to local councils for new homes

Hampshire leaders have been handed millions of pounds to assist with the building of new homes.

Housing minister Grant Shappers confirmed that £12.2 million would be handed to Solent Local Enterprise Partnership in order to tackle the "affordable housing crisis" in Portsmouth and Southampton.

The local enterprise partnership, which is in charge of driving economic development in the cities, will now be able to press on with plans for new properties safe in the knowledge of their budget.

Many local residents working in the property industry are likely to be monitoring the activity of the partnership very closely - as their decisions will have a direct effect on the many letting agents Portsmouth and Southampton has to offer.

According to The Southampton Daily Echo, local councils in Hampshire will also be rewarded to the tune of £2.4 million for their efforts in building new homes last year. This could be spent on creating new housing or on other areas of development in the county.

Housing minister Grant Shapps has confirmed that he is targeting the construction of 100,000 new homes by 2015. According to propertytalklive.co.uk, the Government has identified enough land for 80,000 to be built and are now calling for the assistance of other firms, such as the BBC and Network Rail, in order to find the rest.

Posted 03-02-2012
Author: Joe Elvin