The Housing Corporation is to launch a further £59m Challenge Fund bidding round, writes Joey Gardiner.
The corporation will invite tenders from developers for the last of its allocation from the fund, which was set up by Lord Rooker to encourage innovative development and later given a £100m boost in the Communities Plan.

The new bidding round should mean another 80 sites earmarked for development.

The Housing Corporation intends to make an official announcement of the competition at the end of this month.

Neil Hadden, assistant chief executive of the corporation, said this was the last time this year it would ask for Challenge Fund bids: "We may have a little more money at the end of the year, but any spare resources will go on bids already received."

Karen MacDonald, development manager for Parkside Housing Association, welcomed the news. "We'd definitely be interested in bidding for the new schemes," she said.

This £59m will take the amount allocated this financial year under the Challenge Fund to just shy of £420m – even though the corporation was given just £300m of Challenge Fund money to spend under the Communities Plan. It is able to allocate more than £300m because it anticipates not all the schemes will be completed this financial year.

Source

Housing Today