Social housing to benefit from £65m boost in Northern Ireland

Published by Julien Tremblin for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Local Government

A housing association has secured £65m funding to build social homes in Northern Ireland.

The funding has been secured through a partnership between Clanmil Housing – which owns almost 2,500 units across the province - and Northern Bank, one of the leading retail banks in Northern Ireland.

The cash injection is set to see the construction of 550 new social homes across Northern Ireland over the next three years.

There were 39,891 applicants on Northern Ireland’s social housing waiting list on 31 March 2011, 20,967 of which were deemed to be in housing stress.

A £30m loan obtained from Northern Bank will help Clanmil Housing access a further £35m statutory grant funding from the Department for Social Development.

The construction is expected to create 300 on-site jobs over the three-year period. Many more associated jobs throughout the supply chain should also benefit from the project.

Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland welcomed the move.

He said: “This funding is a huge vote of confidence by a local bank in the work of a local housing association. My department already provides significant funding for social housing and this combination of public and private financing will enable Clanmil Housing to build substantially more houses. In these tough economic times a £30 million injection is a timely and welcome boost not just for those in housing need, but also for our hard pressed construction industry.”

Jonathan Boggs, Finance Director at Clanmil Housing, said; “This is really good news in a very tough lending market.  Faced with growing demand for social housing and increasing constraints on statutory funding, our challenge is to find new funding sources that will support continued investment in social housing and make the public money available go further.

“This is a truly local partnership between a local housing association and a local bank that will benefit our communities and our economy, bringing high-quality, affordable homes for local people in housing need, and much needed jobs for the local construction industry.”

Northern Bank Corporate Banking Manager Chris Martin said: “This latest contract highlights Clanmil Housing’s position as one of Northern Ireland’s leading housing associations as it continues to address the need for more social housing in the province. Northern Bank is pleased to be supporting Clanmil in making this achievable for the housing association and for the individuals and families who will benefit. 

“Our investment reinforces our strong commitment to enabling affordable housing in Northern Ireland – not just through our support for local businesses like Clanmil Housing, but also through our strong mortgage offering for people seeking to move house, build or buy for the first time."