Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Greg Clark used a visit to a Linden Homes development in Huntingdon to announce nearly £1bn in funding for the region.
The fund will be shared between Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Peterborough. The monies will be available to the councils to invest in infrastructure in order to support new housing in the region.
Speaking whilst on site, Mr Clark said:
“Huntingdonshire is one of the parts of the country that’s doing really well, creating lots of jobs. But that success brings challenges, such as homes for people to live in, who’ve grown up here. What we’ve seen here at Saxon Gardens is 180 new homes, most of them going for local people and most of them to first-time buyers which is fantastic to see.
“Council leaders [in Huntingdon and across East Anglia] have negotiated in this devolution deal a fund of nearly £1billion, to be put in the hands of local people, to make sure that when homes are built there can be investment in the roads and railways to make sure the area continues to flow.
“But when jobs are being created, people do need to live close by to them, so the deal also includes specific money - £175million – to invest in the next few years on new homes and local people taking those decisions. So rather than those decisions being made in London, they will be made locally.”
Mr Clark was speaking whilst visiting Linden Homes’ development at Saxon Gardens, Huntingdon. The scheme comprises 180 homes, including 52 affordable homes for local people. Of the properties sold to date, over 60 per cent have been sold using Help to Buy, and over 60 per cent of purchasers are first-time buyers.
Mr Clark was shown around the development by Michael Coker, Managing Director of Linden Homes’ Midlands division. Mr Coker said: ‘We welcome the announcement Mr Clark made today providing nearly £1bn in funding for the region. We are very supportive of the devolution agenda and look forward to working closely with the local authorities and communities to ensure that proper infrastructure is delivered alongside the new homes that region needs.’
He added: ‘We were pleased to welcome Mr Clark to this development. It is one of our most successful schemes in the region and has sold really well. It was fantastic to have an opportunity to show Mr Clark around and tell him more about Linden Homes and our work in the region.’
Whilst visiting the development, Mr Clark met Curtis Todd, an apprentice in his third year studying to be an electrician. Mr Todd is one of nearly 300 apprentices Linden Homes has across the country.
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