TVH Hits 150th Starter Homes Initiative Sale - 25/07/02
Emma Erbes, a teacher at Hamsey Green School in Warlingham is the 150th person to buy a home from Thames Valley Housing through its Key Homes scheme, part of the Starter Homes Initiative (SHI). The SHI is a Government scheme established to help teachers, nurses, police officers and other key public service workers to buy their first home.
Congratulating both Thames Valley Housing Association and Emma on achieving the milestone, Housing and Planning Minister Jeff Rooker said:
"This milestone marks a real achievement for the Starter Home Initiative. The Government is acutely aware that in hotspots throughout the South East, high house prices are undermining recruitment and retention of teachers, nurses, police officers and other vital service providers. The £250 million Starter Home Initiative is aimed at helping 10,000 key workers buy their own homes and this milestone is an early indication that it's working."
Emma works had been renting a flat with her partner Daniel Scott, a lecturer at Kingston University. As both were brought up in the area they were keen to carry on living and working near their families, but their rent made it difficult to save up to buy a home, given the high cost of property in Surrey. A £20,000 equity loan (which does not have to be paid back until they move out) from Thames Valley Housing made all the difference, and they have now moved into their new home in Reigate.
Primary school teachers are proving particularly difficult to recruit in Surrey - research published recently by the Local Government Association shows that 50% of job advertisements had no applicants. The latest figures released by the Halifax show that average house prices in London and the South East are now six-and-a-half times the average teachers pay. Local authorities across the region cite high house prices as a key factor in their recruitment and retention problems. Ensuring that teachers have an affordable home is an important part of preventing these problems from worsening.
Councillor David Hodge, Chairman of Tandridge District Council's Housing Committee, said:
"The shortage of housing for key workers is a big problem in this area which is why I am delighted that a local teacher will benefit from the Thames Valley Housing Starter Homes Initiative. Tandridge District Council held a key worker conference last year to highlight the difficulties and subsequently drawing up a strategy to find ways to improve the situation. Working with Thames Valley Housing is just one of the solutions."
TVH won £17.5m of SHI funding last September to run its Key Homes scheme in Surrey, Wokingham, Rushmoor and Hart, and was the first housing association to complete a sale. The scheme has been promoted through advertising and direct mail, set up for application pack requests. The scheme offers both equity loans and shared-ownership (part-buy, part-rent) options.
If you a teacher, health worker or police officer living in Surrey, Wokingham, Rushmoor or Hart and are interested in the scheme, call our application pack hotline on 020 8607 0628 or email keyhomes@tvha.co.uk
Further Information
Miranda Oakley
Marketing & PR Manager
Tel: 020 8607 0622
Email: miranda_oakley@tvha.co.uk
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