Ian Austin, the Minister for the West Midlands, and Sir Bob Kerslake, Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), have announced that over 360 new homes have been commissioned in the last six months to help people in rural communities in the West Midlands access a home.

The announcement came on a visit to John Corbett Way, a newly completed rural scheme in Stoke Prior developed by bdht – the largest provider of affordable housing in the district of Bromsgrove.

The Minister was speaking on the success of the West Midlands HCA's Rural Affordable Housing Programme six months on from when he announced it as part of the £700m West Midlands Housing Action Plan in April.

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The West Midlands HCA has pledged to create a start on site for 500 new affordable homes in rural and market towns across the West Midlands over the next two years – and has already commissioned 366, just a quarter of the way into the programme, and equating to £21.8m of investment.

Additional HCA support has meant that 150 new homes have been completed in the last six months, with John Corbett Way being one of these developments.

Mr Austin said: "In previous recessions, no help was provided whilst the housing market ground to a halt. This time, we're investing £7.5 billion to build thousands of new homes and save jobs in the construction industry.

"Here in the West Midlands, we're showing families we're on their side by providing the new homes they need, including in rural areas with new developments like the one we're building at Stoke Prior."

(CD/KMcA)