New review highlights the positive impact of Government’s Community Housing Fund

We take a look at the key findings...

A newly published review conducted by the Community Land Trust Network has revealed the enabling role of the Government’s Community Housing Fund (CHF) in supporting the creation of new affordable housing capacity, helping to fund projects led by local communities across England. 

The CHF, which was secured in 2016, was introduced to support community led housing models such as community land trusts, cohousing, and housing cooperatives, and provided grants to help groups secure sites and planning permissions. This support enabled those projects to later access mainstream financing and deliver much-needed homes, particularly social rent homes.

The Fund had its shortcomings, most notably that the window of the capital funding was impractical for many otherwise eligible projects to be investment ready in time to benefit from it. Access to land and an inefficient planning process were and remain barriers to swifter delivery.

However, this new report is a welcome, largely positive and important resource. It’s notable and pleasing to see several of the Fund’s recipient projects familiar to us as clients here at Wrigleys. 

In a financial environment where accessing commercial funding for affordable housing projects is arguably even harder with higher interest rates and procurement costs, the report’s recommendations make an understandable call for a renewal of the Fund, which could help leverage commercial finance at a level that enables projects to safely proceed and deliver affordability, whilst protecting long-term financial sustainability and reducing the risk profile for lenders.

Key findings:

• A growing affordable housing pipeline: The review identified that 4,222 homes have been developed or are in the pipeline. 90% of these homes are affordable, with many located in areas typically challenging for developers, such as national parks and small infill sites.
• Promotion of innovative housing models: Projects funded through the CHF were more likely to incorporate Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and offer self-build or custom-build options than industry averages, underscoring the fund’s role in promoting creative and sustainable housing solutions.
• High success rate: According to the review, 95% of funded projects have succeeded or are still making progress, with only 5% failing.

Tom Chance, CEO of the Community Land Trust Network, commented on the findings, saying;

“This review shows that the government can stimulate more social housebuilding at a low cost by backing community led housing. It can also diversify the housebuilding industry, which is needed to achieve the target of 1.5 million homes by the end of this parliament.

Through our new campaign, we are calling for planning and land reforms, new funding, which this review demonstrates is crucial, and regulatory reforms. The Labour government has the potential to unleash a movement that provides additional housing, boosts community cohesion and strengthens the co-operative economy.”

Wrigleys Solicitors Partner and community-led housing specialist Laura Moss added;

“We’ve seen first-hand how the Community Housing Fund unlocked development potential for our clients.  Even a small amount of initial funding can leverage in support from other sources.  Less tangibly, but equally as important, support like this boosts the morale of those involved with community housing projects, indicating that someone else really believes in what you’re doing.”

You can read the full findings of the review here: CHF Delivery Review 2024.