Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Timber Development UK (TDUK), the trade association for the timber supply chain, has welcomed the announcement of nearly £10 billion of funding being allocated to build over 70,000 social and affordable homes across England.
Announced on August 25, this is the first wave of funding under the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP), a 10-year programme which will spend £39 billion in total.
The Government has announced 33 delivery partners across the country.
All the funding in this wave is outside London, in areas such as Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, the North East, West Yorkshire, the Liverpool City Region and South Yorkshire, with a further £16 billion of the SAHP funding remains to be allocated outside London over the ten-year period.
CEO of TDUK, David Hopkins, said: “This news comes as a welcome relief for the market. The housing sector, and the supply chains that feed it, cannot wait any longer for investment to flow. It is high time the government allocated the capital, to let the industry get on with doing what it does best.”
“The delay in encouraging demand has had catastrophic effects across the sector. Now is the time to focus on delivery of quality homes fit for the future.”
