Housing association gets £66m funding boost to build homes across Shropshire and West Midlands

Bromford has been announced as a new 'strategic partner' of Homes England, as part of a Government drive to invest £1.7 billion in 39,000 new homes.

It will receive £66m to build 1,400 homes by March 2024 – and about half of these will be built in Shropshire and the West Midlands.

The announcement was made by Communities Secretary James Brokenshire as Bromford was joined by another seven housing associations in receiving £497m to build an additional 11,000 affordable homes.

In total there are now 28 Homes England partners delivering 39,000 new homes through £1.7 billion in funding.

Bromford lodged its bid in October 2018 and bosses say the new homes will be for social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership tenures.

Martyn Blackman, Bromford’s executive director of new homes, said: “We are very excited to embark on what is a new, closer relationship with Homes England which takes another important step towards securing the long-term delivery of affordable housing right across England.

"The government has shown a real desire to work with ambitious housing providers and the announcement gives us all far greater long-term certainty allowing Bromford and others to further accelerate our land-led housebuilding programmes to deliver the homes our future customers need.

“Bromford has recently brought three organisations together in order to cement our financial strength and housebuilding capability and the Homes England announcement really demonstrates our commitment to investing in the communities we serve and will help us strengthen the relationships we have with the people living in those communities.”

Sir Edward Lister, Homes England chairman, said: “I welcome the new strategic partners who share our ambition to build better homes faster.

"Our new ways of working with the sector mean that housing associations can use their funding flexibly across their development programmes and respond quickly to local housing demand and a changing market.”

The other housing associations confirmed as strategic partners are Curo & Swan; Walsall Housing Group; Liverpool Mutual Homes & Torus; Longhurst & Nottingham Community Housing Association; Together; Yorkshire Housing and Your Housing Group.

Bromford has thousands of homes across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall, and Staffordshire, as well as offices in Wolverhampton, Solihull and Lichfield.