‘Can’t wait to crack on’ – Providers react to £39bn social homes plan

Housing association chief executives have welcomed the government’s allocations from its Social and Affordable Homes Programme, saying the funding would help tackle housing waiting lists across England.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Andy Burnham named 33 housing associations across the country who would benefit from an initial £9.5bn allocation of funding, intended to deliver 70,000 social homes.

Burnham has made social housing a key tenet of his first few weeks in Parliament, promising the biggest council housebuilding programme since the post-war period as his government ramps up its efforts against a pledge by his predecessor’s administration to build 1.5m homes by the end of the current parliament.

Leicestershire-based Stonewater was awarded £350m, one of nine associations awarded the maximum amount.

The group, which owns and manages around 40,000 homes across the country, was awarded £350m – it’s largest ever allocation – with chief executive Jonathan Layzell particularly pleased that his firm’s ambition for rural housing had been recognised.

Jonathan Layzell of Stonewater said a major focus of the firm’s bid was increasing the supply of affordable homes in rural communities. Credit: Stonewater

“The funding provides welcome certainty for our development programme and reflects the confidence Homes England has in our ability to deliver high-quality affordable homes at scale,” he said.

“We’re particularly pleased that our plans include a strong focus on rural communities.”

In bullish fashion Sandy Livingstone, chief executive of Manchester-based Onward Homes said the firm’s allocation of £345.1m was a “vote of confidence” in Onward’s ambition and capability.

“We are ready to go and can’t wait to crack on,” he said.

“This is a generational opportunity to build the social housing our country needs at scale and pace. These homes will make a huge contribution to tackling the housing crisis so that families in our communities in the north west can have a place to call home.”

Meanwhile North West landlord Torus will also receive £350m, with chief executive Steve Coffey keen to get started on the firm’s plans to build 2,865 homes across Merseyside and Cheshire over the next five years.

“Coupled with the investment we will make, it unlocks over £1bn investment in affordable housing in Merseyside and Cheshire,” he said.

“We have a big appetite to build new homes at scale and we don’t view this as being overly ambitious; we think it is pragmatic given our track-record and it is just the start.

“The only way we will make a meaningful dent in ever-growing housing waiting lists is by delivering at this level over a sustained period.”

Clare Miller, chief executive of Clarion Housing Group, which secured £350 million in grant funding for nearly 3,000 social and affordable homes across England. Credit: Clarion

Clarion Housing Group secured £350 million in grant funding to deliver 2,977 social homes across England.

One of the largest housing associations in the country, Clarion will use the funding to build homes at developments across England, with the organisation continues to grow its national development pipeline delivered through its development arm, Latimer.

The group is currently building more than 400 homes on its £112m development on Digbeth High Street.

Clare Miller, group chief executive of Clarion Housing Group, said: “We know that our bid was assessed against our track record of delivery, and the hard work of many people has helped to achieve this success today.

“As the largest housing association in the country, we know what it takes to build homes at scale and to build them well, and this funding will allow us to go further and faster in helping families move from temporary accommodation into settled homes they can call their own.”

Coventry-based Orbit Homes’ has targeted 7,000 new and regenerated homes by 2030, increased from the 5,700-home target announced in 2024.

In July 2026 it said it had reached its 2,000th completed home against that commitment, leaving roughly 5,000 homes to deliver or regenerate by 2030.

The government social housing funding would enable the group to build more than 3,000 homes against that target, according to Phil Andrew, group chief executive.

“We’re absolutely delighted to have been awarded £350m as part of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, and to be able to continue to work with Homes England in helping to tackle the UK’s housing crisis,” he said.

“The grant will enable us to build 3,335 new homes, as part of our ambition to build 7,000 new and regenerated homes by 2030.

“We look forward to being able to provide more people with a good quality home that they can afford, in a place they are proud to live.”