New £45m Cardiff Capital Region Investment Fund set to unlock stalled housing sites for development
The Cardiff Capital Region City Deal (CCR) has today launched a new £45m Housing Investment Fund to help stimulate the housing market in areas where there has been little new housing development.
Called ‘Homes for all the Region,’ the Fund is intended to deliver 2,800 new homes across the region’s ten local authority areas. The Fund is divided into two sub-funds: a Housing Viability Gap Fund of £35m, and an SME Finance Fund of £10m. CBRE’s Investment Advisory team, part of Capital Advisors, will support the CCR in managing the Fund.
The primary objectives of the Fund will be to unlock sites that have stalled, invest in projects that will deliver housing in areas where it is needed most, generate construction activity, jobs and sustainable developments and enhance the long-term growth prospects and competitiveness of the region through improved infrastructure, increased connectivity and regeneration.
Funding will be made to local authorities on a competitive basis and projects must deliver a minimum of 40 new homes.
Nicola Somerville, CCR’s Head of Inclusive Growth and Business Development at Cardiff Capital Region said: “The housing viability gap funding is an investment requirement that has been needed for some time to unlock allocated residential sites across the region to assist with the delivery of new homes.
“But the funds are not only about delivering new houses. For us, it is about the creation of new communities, engaging with new supply chains and providing equality of opportunity for existing residents and new, the ability to access good quality housing in an area of their choice.
“The Fund is a welcome contributor to a suite of financial products that we are developing to help the sector start building again.”
George Richards, Senior Director, CBRE Capital Advisors added: “We are delighted to be supporting the CCR in managing this new Fund, a much-needed catalyst for the delivery of schemes which have previously been deemed unviable. The distribution of new housing across the region has been very uneven since the Global Financial Crisis and the Fund aims to tackle this issue, ensuring the areas most in need are receiving equitable provision. The Fund will play a key role in ensuring there is a more holistic distribution of house building across the whole region. The Fund is now welcoming applications.”