Liverpool city region secures £380m from the Government that will enable 3,100 affordable and social homes to be built across its six boroughs. Tony McDonough reports

A £380m Government cash injection will see 3,100 affordable and social homes built across Liverpool city region.

Mayor Steve Rotheram has welcomed the funding which has come from the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme. This week almost £10bn has been allocated to build more than 70,000 quality council, social and affordable homes across England.

This cash will be used by councils, including Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Halton, as well as by housing associations, to build affordable and social homes.

An affordable home is one where the rent or sale price is no more than 80% of the local market rate and for a social or council home that can be as low as 50%.

Mr Rotheram said: “Council housing is personal to me. I grew up in a council house in Kirkby, and I know what that security meant to my family.

“It gave my mum the chance to give us a stable start in life, without constantly worrying about keeping a roof over our heads. Every family deserves that same security. But we simply haven’t built enough council and social housing in this country.

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“The consequences are all around us – families stuck on waiting lists, children growing up in temporary accommodation and young people wondering whether they’ll ever afford a place of their own.”

He added: “I want Liverpool city region to be at the forefront of the biggest revival in council housebuilding in a generation. We’ve spent decades talking about the need to build more council homes – now we’ve got a real opportunity to get on and do it.”