Two winners of new cash to build more housing in the UK 

In response to today’s announcement by Prime Minister Andy Burnham of funding to support more than 70,000 new social and affordable homes across England over the next 10 years, Andy Hulme, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Hyde Group — the UK’s second biggest social and affordable housing landlord commented,

“The country desperately needs more genuinely affordable and good quality homes, and we welcome the government’s commitment to supporting us in meeting this challenge.

 As a not-for-profit housing provider that owns or manages around 130,000 homes and provides neighbourhood services to around 350,000 homes, we see the impact on people every single day of not having a permanent home through the uncertainty and anxiety it causes.

Today’s funding rightly supports a significant increase in new homes for social rent, which we strongly welcome. It’s good news for those people in need of a home, for communities looking to thrive and for growth in the wider economy.

We’re pleased to have been appointed as a strategic partners to Homes England to help deliver the new homes this funding will support.

The focus on delivering through housing associations and local councils will support better partnerships and help to move tens of thousands of children and their family’s out of temporary accommodation. Hyde is unique in that it works right across the country and offers a fully integrated service, meaning that we have development teams, asset management teams and housing managers.

So, we do everything from cleaning the windows to building the foundations. It’s right that local councils should play a full role in tackling the housing crisis and we have strong relationships with many local authorities up and down the country, already supporting them in delivery and regeneration.

As one of the largest delivery partners for affordable homes across London and the Southeast, we’re already live on site delivering 7,000 new homes. Today’s announcement will support us to deliver over 2,250 additional homes outside London.  We’re working with partners to go even further and look forward to the Greater London Authority’s announcement of its allocations in due course.

Government funding will always play an important role in delivering affordable homes, but there’s more that can be done to bring in the right long-term investment to help do more, more quickly. Hyde remains at the forefront of this innovation and today’s announcement will support those efforts further.

We also need to be clear that allocating the remaining funding and continuing to work to remove barriers to deliver, such as delays in the planning system and giving charitable providers like Hyde long-term certainty and appropriate resources, remain vitally important.

That said, the biggest crisis we do have in this country is around affordable housing and temporary accommodation. And, for the first time, we have a Prime Minister who is keeping this on the front pages each week. There is not a vulnerable household or person in the country that would not benefit from high-quality, affordable housing.”

In a separate press release PCH secures £250m investment from Homes England to deliver 1,500 affordable homes

Where Plymouth Community Homes has been selected by Homes England as a Strategic Partner for the Government’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026-2036. The landmark programme will see PCH receive £250m of funding to support the delivery of 1,500 affordable homes over the next decade, helping address housing need across Devon and Cornwall.

The funding support will enable PCH to deliver high-quality affordable homes in areas where housing need is greatest, and where development viability can be more challenging. It will help unlock regeneration opportunities and support the creation of thriving communities, including in areas such as Plymouth city centre.

PCH is one of just 33 housing associations chosen nationally to become a Strategic Partner through the programme. Jonathan Cowie, Chief Executive of Plymouth Community Homes, said:

“This is fantastic news for Plymouth and the wider Southwest. Being selected as a Strategic Partner is a strong endorsement of our ability to deliver the high-quality affordable homes our communities need. This funding gives us greater certainty to plan ahead, invest in our communities and continue delivering homes that help more people access secure and affordable housing.

Alongside our development ambitions, we remain committed to investing in our existing homes, improving energy efficiency, maintaining quality and providing excellent services for residents.”

Chris Brook, Executive Director of Place at Plymouth Community Homes, said:

“This funding gives us a really strong platform to deliver homes in places where housing need is greatest, including locations where development can often be financially challenging. The strength of this funding package will help us maximise social value, support regeneration opportunities and bring forward schemes that might otherwise be difficult to deliver. It means we can take a longer-term view, invest more confidently in communities.”

Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR