00:00For thousands of families across the Liverpool City region, the prospect of a safe, secure home could soon become a reality.
00:08The government earmarked £700 million to turbocharge social and affordable housing, enabling developers to break ground faster and bring forward projects that have long been in the planning.
00:20Part of this funding will allow the combined authority to deliver 555 new homes on brownfield sites,
00:27replacing crumbling buildings, empty car parks and disused industrial land with modern community-focused housing.
00:34This builds on a track record of more than 4,000 homes already in the pipeline, supported by £60 million previously invested in the region.
00:42I feel like an amazing difference. You've got single mums or even families.
00:46You've got little kids and they're not living in damp places and they need proper places.
00:52If you can't invest in our families, we've got no future.
00:55I think we should build more high-rising buildings to put all of them in one and make more room for the children to play.
01:09It's like social housing.
01:14Housing Secretary Steve Reid said the investment will be life-changing for thousands of families in the north-west,
01:21giving local mayors the power to shape housing development around local priorities.
01:26He added the plan would help put spades in the ground, fire up those diggers and build baby build.
01:32For the first time, Mayor Steve Rotherham, working with Homes England, will determine which sites and types of homes receive funding.
01:40He described the initiative as the single biggest earmarked investment in housing our region has ever seen,
01:47adding that it will help the city region meet a target of 16,000 new social and affordable homes over the next decade.
01:54Councillor Graham Morgan, Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration said the funding is a game-changer,
02:00allowing brownfield land to be transformed into thriving communities where people can live with security and dignity.
02:07He emphasised that the investment comes at a critical time, helping families who are currently priced out or living in unsuitable accommodation.
02:16The funding follows the Housing Secretary's first major intervention in the sector and a summit urging providers to go big, go bold and go build.
02:26Rent is more than a lot of mortgages. No, they're not doing enough. No, they definitely should build more.
02:31It's every government we've had in before. They're going to do this. They're going to do such something when they haven't.
02:38I think the way politics is at the moment, I don't trust any of them for anything. I've always been Labour. I don't know now, you know. So disappointed with Rachel and I don't know.
02:51For the Liverpool City region, it's a major step forward in tackling the housing crisis while creating sustainable locally driven communities.
Comments