West Midlands mayor launches £3.8bn fund to boost affordable housing

A total of £1.7bn is expected from Homes England to invest in the development pipeline.

It is unclear how much of this development would be affordable housing. However, Mr Parker has previously set a target for the region to build 2,000 social rent homes annually by 2028.

Mr Parker, who announced the fund at UKREiiF in Leeds yesterday, said the fund will give WMCA the “financial firepower to invest in the things that matter most to local people”, such as affordable housing.

He added: “I want developers and investors to work with us to help grow the economy and raise living standards right across the region.”

The funding will help deliver projects across the Birmingham-North Solihull Gateway, Coventry Growth Arc, Sandwell-Dudley Metro Corridor and Wolverhampton-Walsall Growth Cluster, according to the WMCA. 

The Treasury-backed National Wealth Fund (NWF), which underwrites funding from major banks for affordable housing, also said it is “backing the ambition” of the partnership. WMCA is already a strategic partner of the NWF. 

Figures quoted last September by the WMCA revealed that there were 65,335 households on social housing waiting lists in the region. In total, 7,450 households, including 14,976 children, are living in temporary accommodation.

Mr Parker is also aiming to tackle the construction skills crisis. Last October he launched a £75m package to train more than 12,000 people in construction skills over the next three years.