Written - Grants for First Time Buyers in Renewal Areas Pilot Scheme and Half Way Mark to Achieving 6,500 Affordable Homes

I am pleased to be able to announce today that at the second anniversary of the One Wales commitment we are on target to deliver 6,500 extra affordable homes over the term of this Government.

Welsh Assembly Government can clearly demonstrate its continued support for the effective development of social housing helping to address housing need across Wales 

Early figures suggest the number of homes, delivered by housing associations over the last two years, is 3,252. This is based on independent figures provided by the Welsh Economic Research Unit (WERU).

In 2007-08, 1,533 affordable homes were provided according to the Welsh Economic Research Unit (WERU).  Preliminary figures from WERU suggest a further 1,700 were provided in 2008-09, though these figures have not been finalised and may be subject to change.  The Welsh Assembly Government’s affordable housing data collection introduced in April this year will provide a precise and detailed breakdown of additional affordable housing provision across Wales which will be available in the autumn of 2009.

This is a particularly good achievement given the current economic conditions and shows not only a commitment from the Government to meet pre-agreed targets by putting more financial commitment behind housing but a clear achievement from Housing Associations to committing their own resources at a time when borrowing is both more expensive and difficult to obtain.

I am also pleased to announce today an extension of the First Time Buyers in Renewal Areas Pilot Scheme.

As Members will know the provision of grants for first time buyers is also a ‘One Wales’ commitment. A pilot scheme was introduced in 2008-09 which targeted grants for improvements in energy efficiency to first time buyers in housing renewal areas in those local authority areas where the income to house price ratio was above the national average in Wales.

Renewal Areas were chosen as targeted areas as they have been very successful in Wales, since their inception in the early 1990s, in securing sustainable housing regeneration.  Investment in area-based renewal schemes not only secure improvements to the houses themselves but also have beneficial socio-economic and environmental effects which lead to a restoration of confidence in the area.

The first year of the pilot scheme (2008-09) received £500,000 Assembly Government funding which was allocated to 9 qualifying local authorities. These were: Cardiff; Ceredigion; Conwy; Denbighshire; Gwynedd; Pembrokeshire; Powys; Vale of Glamorgan and Wrexham.

For the second year of the pilot (2009-2010) the scheme has been extended to all renewal areas in Wales and a further £500,000 is being allocated to 10 local authorities.  The authorities are: Bridgend; Cardiff; Caerphilly; Carmarthenshire; Merthyr Tydfil; Neath Port Talbot; Rhondda Cynon Taff; Swansea; Torfaen; Wrexham