Greater Manchester Combined Authority launched its £300 million Housing Fund on Thursday 2 July at an event attended by 150 people from the development industry. The prospectus can be downloaded here.

The Manchester evening news has reported:

“The Greater Manchester Housing Fund was created as part of the region’s devolution agenda and is a cornerstone to Manchester Place’s ambition of creating high quality homes on the city fringes and beyond.

It is estimated that 10,000 new homes need to be built every year in Greater Manchester to meet the demand of a growing population and more jobs existing.

Deborah McLaughlin, chief executive of Manchester Place, said councils have identified more than 30 sites with an existing planning application that have yet to start on site is encouraging developers to take advantage of the funding and start building.

“This gives the city region great opportunity to get schemes moving,” she says. “Access to finance is a massive thing. So if developers and house builders have a scheme that needs funding, come and talk to us.”

The fund was due to be launched to 100 people in Manchester city centre today (Thursday) and the Manchester Place team will help the right applicants submit for the fund as well as help get the scheme ready for investment.

The process is to in an application, which a scrutiny panel will check to see if it is an acceptable scheme before financial people – neutral and not part of Manchester Place – make sure it is a sound investment.

“They have to be neutral because we have to pay that money back to the Treasury after 10 years,” says Deborah.

“We need to make sure we are investing in viable schemes in the right market, with the right product that we know is going to be successful. And because of the development cycle we have identified, the money would come back maybe every two years. So really we have about £750m to invest.”

She adds: “Previously we haven’t had the ability to recycle the money. Before, we lent the money out, the money came back, then it went off to the Treasury. But we can do it over and over again now, which is really good.

“The fact it is there for 10 years actually gives the housebuilders confidence because if they go and buy land, they have a bit longer to get planning permission. Done this way, the money is still going to be there. I think it gives confidence.

“We expect the money to be given back on completion of schemes.”  “