Work can begin at the landmark Trumpington Meadows development in Cambridge, due to an agreement between the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and delivery partner Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association (bpha).

The agreement will deliver 40% of the total homes for the site as affordable housing, funded by a grant of £9,898,640 from the HCA.

Following signing of the planning permission in September 2009, the HCA and bpha have agreed the final grant for the affordable homes. The HCA will release funding at higher levels in earlier phases of the project, easing the financing of the scheme, the first tranche of which has now been paid out.

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The affordable homes will be a mix of social rented and shared ownership and will meet the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) level 4. They will be Lifetime Home compliant and Gold Award standard is being sought through CABE's Building for Life programme.

Trumpington Meadows is the first strategic site to move forward as part of the Cambridge Challenge - a pilot to deliver 3,300 affordable homes in Cambridgeshire. This grant, along with help from Cambridgeshire Horizons Growth Area Fund, enable the wider development of the site which is forecast to deliver approximately 1200 homes in total plus community facilities including a school.

Commenting on the agreement, John O'Mahony, Head of Strategy, Programmes and Performance for the HCA in the East of England said: "Getting the right projects forward in the right timescales is the key to delivering our housing needs in the region. We've worked hard with bpha and all partners to enable this affordable housing scheme, and the wider development, to go ahead."

John Cross from bpha said: "We are grateful to the HCA's continued support during this difficult economic climate to help bpha and its partners deliver this site at Trumpington Meadows as part of the Cambridge Challenge."

(CD/GK)