Financial support

Financial support for those working up development proposals has been made available by DCLG for groups in England.

For groups outside London – funds are being administered by the HCA, for those in London the funds are administered by the GLA.

The Homes & Communities Agency (HCA)

For groups in England outside of London, The Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) has launched a dedicated fund to support the Community Right to Build. Community groups are invited to apply for a share of £17.5 million. The funding is available until the end of March 2015.

What is the funding for?

To help set up eligible community organisations (if required), work up their development proposals, consult with the local community and submit a Community Right to Build Order.

It is not intended to contribute to the costs of a full project feasibility plan, building, land acquisition or any other costs relating to the development itself.

Who can apply?

Anybody can apply provided the application is on behalf of either a community organisation or parish council.  Before disbursing any payment, the HCA will need to be satisfied that the beneficiary organisation is an appropriate ‘body corporate’ and that they meet the requirements set out in the Localism Act 2011 and associated regulation.  Further details are available on the first couple of pages of Step 2 Guidance Note:

How do community organisations apply for funding?

An application pack is downloadable from the HCA site.

There is an expectation that applicants should contribute at least 10% of the estimated costs to developing their proposal to the point where a Community Right to Build Order can be submitted.

All applications must include evidence of community engagement and support (e.g articles in the local newspaper, minutes of community meetings, flyers to promote the proposal). Applications will be assessed on the level of community engagement and support shown. Applications which can show higher levels of community support will be more likely to receive funding than a similar proposal with little evidence of support.

There is an open bidding process so applications can be made at any time.  However, HCA expects it will take at least six months to complete the preparation and apply for a Community Right to Build Order so it is unlikely new applications will be accepted after October 2014.

As well as contacting Locality, applicants can discuss their proposals with their regional HCA lead if required.  These are:

Custom Build Funding

In Laying the Foundations – a Housing Strategy for England, the Government announced that it would be making up to £30m of funding available to provide short-term project finance to help unlock group custom build – or self-build – schemes.

The HCA are administering this funding for groups outside London.

The aim of the fund is two-fold:

  1. To stimulate the growth of the Custom Build Homes market by enabling more multi-unit custom build home projects and attract more commercial lenders and investors to this market, thereby increasing the number of custom built homes developed annually over the next decade.
  2. To focus exclusively on multi-unit ‘group’ projects with the objective of bringing forward sufficient numbers of successful schemes to demonstrate to commercial funders that the lending model is a viable and sustainable business which can be taken forward by industry, without public funding support, when the fund closes on 31 March 2015.

The fund can be used to cover eligible costs such as:

  • Land acquisition costs;
  • Site preparation costs;
  • Construction of supporting infrastructure/utilities directly related to the construction of the homes;
  • S106 planning obligations, Community Infrastructure Levy charges and S278 agreements;
  • Construction costs for the homes; and
  • Associated professional fees related to the project after planning permission has been granted.

The HCA has published a prospectus setting out details of how interested bidders may apply: for further information visit the HCA Custom Build web page

Greater London Authority (GLA)

For groups in London, the Greater London Authority has launched a fund ‘Build your own home – the London way’ which includes £3m of revenue grant funding to support Community Right to Build.

This funding is available to any community group or parish council that is considering applying for a Community Right to Build Order. Visit the Greater London Authority website for the funding prospectus and details on how organisations can apply.

What is the funding for?

The funding will help community organisations by contributing to the costs of preparing an application for a Community Right to Build Order, including consulting in the local area and developing the scheme proposal, thus stimulating the local economy and providing employment opportunities.

The aim is to provide funding to encourage the Community Right to Build to take-off as quickly as possible in London.

How do community organisations apply for funding?

The funding programme is now open and the GLA welcomes applications from eligible community groups. An application pack is available for download on the GLA’s website.

Community groups are advised to contact the GLA by e-mailing CRTB@london.gov.uk with brief details of their plans and local area. They will be put in touch with someone in the GLA knowledgeable about their local area and this funding stream to discuss proposals.

The programme will remain open to receive new applications until funding is fully committed (or until the end of March 2015, whichever is soonest). This will allow community groups the time to work up their proposals before applying.

Applicants will be required to demonstrate: that the applicant organisation is already a body corporate or has clear plans to become one; the extent of community engagement and consultation that can be demonstrated as having been undertaken to date;  that land for the proposals has been identified or is in the process of being identified and that the community group have considered and, if necessary, secured or will have secured a legal interest in the land which allows for its development; that the area has already been designated as a ‘neighbourhood area’ or that there are clear plans in place to do so; and that appropriate expertise (including design expertise) is available to the applicants to draw on.

It is expected that it will usually take at least six months to complete the preparation and apply for a Community Right to Build Order. It is therefore unlikely that we will fund new applications received after October 2014.

Custom Build Housing fund

The Greater London Authority has launched the Custom Build Housing fund.

This funding is available to groups developing two or more Custom Build Homes (in London) on commercial terms on a repayable basis.

Both market and affordable Custom Build Housing proposals will be eligible for funding. Qualifying expenditure includes:

  • Land acquisition costs;
  • Site preparation costs;
  • Construction of supporting infrastructure/utilities directly related to the construction of the homes;
  • S106 planning obligations, Community Infrastructure Levy and S278 agreements ;
  • Construction costs for the homes; and
  • Associated professional fees related to the project after planning permission has been granted.

The application form for the initial stage can be found on the Greater London Authority website along with the expected funding heads of terms.

Further information & useful contacts

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