Over 500 Homes for Key Workers - 20/09/01
Thames Valley Housing will be providing 536 homes for key workers in Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire following the announcement of funding allocations for the Government Starter Homes Initiative. The allocation of £17.5m is one of the largest to be won by a single housing association.
In partnership with 14 local authorities, including all 11 Surrey local authorities, Thames Valley will be helping nurses, teachers and police officers to buy their own home. The scheme, known as Key Homes, allows key workers to choose a home on the open market. Thames Valley then has the flexibility to provide either shared ownership or an interest-free loan arrangement according to the circumstances of the resident. Shared ownership is a scheme whereby the resident buys a portion of the property, while the housing association buys the remainder. The owner pays rent on the part of the property owned by the housing association, and can buy further shares in their home when they can afford to, with the option of ultimately owning 100%.
Zahid Hanif, Head of Home Ownership, lead the bid for Thames Valley. We chose to take the strengths of both shared ownership and loan schemes and combine them to create a flexible scheme which would answer the differing needs of prospective home-owners. Allowing people to choose from the open market, rather than building new houses, means that we can address the housing need immediately. It also allows people to find homes that are convenient for their place of work.
With house prices at 82% above the national average, but public sector pay related to a national scale, the difficulty of finding suitable accommodation is clearly a factor in the recruitment and retention problems experienced in the public sector in Surrey and surrounding areas. NHS Trusts with up to 30% vacancies in some areas report that when they do recruit staff, they are often unable to take up posts due to the lack of affordable housing. Research conducted by Surrey Police demonstrated that while they had no trouble attracting potential recruits, a large number decided not to apply when they found out about the cost of housing in the area.
In putting the bid together, we partnered not only with local authorities but also with local NHS Trusts, schools and the police, explains Zahid. The scheme we have proposed addresses closely the problems and needs that they have told us about. We will continue to liaise with all these partners throughout the implementation of the scheme.
Further Information
For press enquiries contact:
Miranda Oakley
Marketing & PR Manager
Tel: 020 8607 0622
Email: miranda_oakley@tvha.co.uk
For information about applying for the Key Homes scheme, select Residents Services above and follow the Key Homes links.
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