More than £160 million is being made available by the UK Government to boost community-led 'affordable' housing across England.

The new Community Housing Fund, launched by Housing Minister James Brokenshire on Monday, aims to support the delivery of new 'affordable' homes up to 31 March 2020.

The £163m initiative will expand the housing supply through community-led sectors, provide housing that's 'affordable' for local incomes, and aims to deliver a lasting legacy for the community housing sector through building an effective body of expertise within the housebuilding industry.

The government's housing delivery organisation, Homes England, will allocate funding outside London across two phases. A separate programme for London will be delivered by the Greater London Authority.

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Phase one Fund will support applications for revenue grants to assist community groups with the costs involved in the pre-development stage of community-led housing projects. Councils can also bid for revenue funding to support capacity-building activities for community-led groups in their areas.

In addition, local authorities can bid for capital funding for small-scale infrastructure projects, such as roundabouts or pumping stations, to unlock sites that the community can then develop for housing. A second phase of the fund will be launched later this year by Homes England.

Homes England Chief Executive, Nick Walkley, said: "Community-led housing is about local people playing a leading role in solving local housing problems to provide affordable homes and strengthen communities in ways that aren't always possible to achieve through mainstream housing.

"At Homes England, we're determined to increase the supply of homes across all tenures and increase capacity in the housing sector. This is a really important fund, which will offer lasting impact and we look forward to receiving bids from community groups across England."

Tom Chance, Director at the National Community Land Trust Network, said: "We're delighted the Government has recognised the vital role community-led housing can play in delivering much-needed affordable housing. It's the fastest growing new form of housing in the country.

"The new Community Housing Fund will provide long-lasting opportunities for communities everywhere so they can go out and build the homes they really want and need."

(LM/MH)