Chancellor announces 拢500m finance package for small and custom housebuilders, as well as new garden city and extension of Help to Buy
George Osborne has used his Budget to attempt to neutralise attacks from Labour over the government鈥檚 record on promoting the role of small and custom housebuilders with the creation of a 拢500m finance package for small firms and a 鈥渞ight to build鈥� for self-builders.
The chancellor鈥檚 Budget also confirmed a widely-trailed extension from 2016 to 2020 of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme, backed by 拢6bn of government cash, as well as plans to back a new 鈥済arden city鈥� development in the Ebbsfleet quarry in Kent, with 拢200m of investment.
Osborne said the measures would support the construction of over 200,000 new homes.
The pledge to help small housebuilders and self and custom builders comes after determined campaigning from Labour on the issue, with the party pledging a proportion of public sites to be devoted to smaller players.
The Budget documents said the new 拢500m Builders Finance Fund would be targeted at SMEs and would provide loans to developers to unlock 15,000 housing units.
In addition, Osborne said the government would consult on the creation of a new 鈥渞ight to build鈥�, which would