Member Article

£10m secured for innovative housing model

A north east housing provider has secured new funding that will bolster its plans to deliver 1,000 new homes, over the next three years.

A £10m loan from Charity Bank - in partnership with Unity Trust Bank - will not only help Prince Bishops Homes deliver much needed high quality properties for rent but will also support its unique ‘Rent to Buy’ initiative, which offers guidance and assistance to enable first time buyers to get onto the housing ladder.

The ambitious and exciting build programme will also provide a much needed boost to jobs and apprenticeship opportunities across the North East.

Much of this investment will finance work that recently began at Swallowtail Meadows in New Brancepeth, a development which will see 32 three and four bedroomed family homes built in the Durham village. The homes are being built by Swale Valley Construction.

Prince Bishops Homes is a subsidiary of Derwentside Homes - a not-for-profit, registered housing provider. Progressive and driven, the organisation is currently active on 10 sites across the region and has further plans to invest over £100m in to the construction of new homes by 2019, which will help to deliver a further 17 developments across the North East region.

Available on all Prince Bishops Homes sites, the innovative Rent to Buy model allows people who have lived in their home for four years, the chance to buy it. In support of this, the tenant can benefit from half of any increase in the home’s value during this period, to be used towards a mortgage deposit.

This not only helps first time buyers to obtain a mortgage but prevents people from feeling excluded from the market due to price increases or inflation. The other 50% share - and all operating profits generated by Prince Bishops Homes - are redirected back into building more new properties, including both Rent to Buy plots and affordable homes with no HCA grant funding, via Derwentside Homes.

The organisation also offers a range of support mechanisms to assist customers in becoming mortgage ready, with a view to providing those who may think they have no option but to rent, a choice to either buy or remain a tenant.

Keith Tallintire, Director of Resources with Derwentside Homes said: “We are delighted to receive the financial support from Charity Bank which will help us to deliver more high quality homes for people in the North East.

“Recent figures have shown that home ownership is actually falling nationally but we are proud to be delivering a model that helps and supports people to make that step from tenant to owner.”

Charity Bank is an ethical bank that exists to lend to organisations with social purpose. Completely owned by charitable foundations, trusts and social purpose organisations, its mission is to use loan finance to support charities and social enterprises.

Jeremy Ince, Regional Manager for Charity Bank, said: “I am delighted that Charity Bank has been able to assist with finance for the Swallowtail Meadows development. It is great to see our loan funding being used to create new and much needed family homes in the area.

“Furthermore, future profits generated by the company will be used to support the wider mission of Derwentside Homes to deliver further affordable homes alongside a range of flexible solutions that will help and support people in the North East.”

For more information about Prince Bishops Homes, Swallowtail Meadows or other developments in the north east, visit the Prince Bishops Homes website.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .