30 March, 2004

Affordable housing in St Edmundsbury received a massive boost last week following the announcement from the Housing Corporation of housing funding in the Eastern region.

Housing Associations in St Edmundsbury are set to receive £8.5 million from the Housing Corporation over the next two years, which will see the creation of 205 new affordable homes for the borough of St Edmundsbury.

The funding follows successful bids by Registered Social Landlords (RSL’s) as part of a partnership with St Edmundsbury to deliver affordable housing in the borough. St Edmundsbury will now work closely with RSL’s in Haverhill, Bury St Edmunds and rural areas on a number of schemes to provide the region with high quality accommodation, for rent or purchase, at a reasonable cost.  

The £8.5 million funding will subsidise housing associations in the cost of delivering affordable homes over the next two years.

Cllr Frank Warby, Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Crime said:

“This funding represents a significant step towards St Edmundsbury’s goal of providing good quality, affordable housing in the borough. We will continue to liaise closely with Registered Social Landlords in the borough to ensure the delivery and success of our affordable housing programme into the future.”

Examples of some of the affordable housing schemes that this pot of money will fund include:

Bury St Edmunds

• Orwell and Havebury Development Partnership: 6 homes on Gloucester Road
• Suffolk Housing Society: 27 homes at Moreton Hall
• Flagship Housing Group: 10 homes at Cathedral Meadows, 20 homes at Station Hill

Haverhill

• Flagship Housing Group: 40 homes at Hales Barn Farm
• Jephson Homes Housing Association Limited: 37 homes at Hales Barn Farm

Rural areas

• Orwell and Havebury Development Partnership: 32 homes at Ixworth Court for the frail and elderly, 16 at Reeve Lodge in Ixworth and 2 at Hopton
• Hastoe Housing: 4 homes at Rougham

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The following Registered Social Landlords have been allocated funding for the delivery of affordable housing in St Edmundsbury:

• Havebury Housing Partnership
• Orwell Housing
• Suffolk Housing Society
• Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association
• Flagship Housing Group
• Hastoe Housing
• Jephson Homes Housing Association Limited

In 2003/04 the Housing Corporation provided £921,255 in funding towards affordable housing and £960,652 in 2002/03.