Almost 400 affordable homes are being made available in East Anglia, the Midlands and the South West of England in an 18 million pound deal between the Government’s National Clearing House and Bovis Homes. The scheme makes homes available and supports the building industry by enabling house builders to sell their unsold stock to Housing Associations. The deal is the largest so far under the arrangement.

It will provide 379 affordable homes following the agreement between the Homes and Communities Agency, Bovis Homes, and a number of Housing Associations. It will bring the total of homes made available in this way to 4,800 at a cost of 160 million pounds. More agreements are reported to be in the pipeline and the Housing Minister, Margaret Beckett , said the Government was determined to help house builders to weather the current difficult climate.

The homes are being made available through Midland Heart Limited, Walsall Housing Group, Derwent Housing Association, Orbit Housing Group, Broadland Housing Association, Peddars Way Housing Association and Sovereign Housing Association. Of the total, 121 are in the East of England, 106 in the East Midlands, 98 in the South West and 54 in the West Midlands.

The Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, Sir Bob Kerslake said, “By being flexible with our funding we have secured more much-needed quality new homes for affordable rent or sale to local people priced out of the market and maximised value for public money.” David Ritchie, the Chief Executive of Bovis Homes, said the company was pleased to have made a significant contribution to housing delivery under the programme while, at the same time, providing positive returns for its shareholders.