The north-west of England and the Midlands could be the biggest beneficiaries of the Government's recession-busting plans to inject £1bn into stalled housing developments. Housing minister, John Healey, this week named 270 stalled housing projects short-listed for cash under the Government's flagship Kickstart scheme, under which 22,400 new homes could be built across England. A total of 54 projects in the North West have been short-listed, while the West Midlands (35) and East Midlands (32) should also receive sizeable chunks of the £925m pot, which will be finalised later this year. Corby in Northamptonshire stands to receive £60m for projects which could help deliver 1,200 new homes locally. Cities earmarked for funding include Manchester, Leeds, Sunderland, Bristol and London. More than 8,000 homes have been earmarked as ‘affordable', while the developments could create 20,000 jobs nationally. But Mr Healey also issued a firm warning that the Government expects almost half of the cash pot to be repaid within five years. Much of the £925m fund has been brought forward from other projects. ‘This is not a handout to developers. There are tough terms, including repayment of loans within five years. And only builders which accept a realistic market price for their land are eligible,' he said. Just one-fifth of the cash pot will be paid directly to developers, with more than one-third going to housing associations. Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, co-ordinating the programme, warned Kickstart should not be seen as the only route to mitigating the effects of the downturn. ‘There isn't one single solution. Kickstart needs to be seen alongside other measures such as local authority direct development,' he said.
