PLANS for more than 85 new affordable homes in Alton look set to benefit from a massive government cash boost.
Some £3.3m has been allocated from the Housing CorporationÕs Housing Challenge Fund for affordable homes on two sites in Alton - the Treloar Hospital site, which is expected to provide 54 units is to be allocated £2.5m, while a further £781,000 will go to the Kingfisher development on land at Alton College which will provide 32 affordable units.
A further £3m will help provide 81 affordable homes on a new site at Ramshill in Petersfield.
The extra funding means that much-needed affordable housing could become available sooner than expected.
East Hampshire District Council and its partner housing associations were asked to bid for grant funding for projects that had already been given planning permission.
The total grant of £6.3m for EHDC is the largest for any authority in the county and John Venning, cabinet member with responsibility for housing, said that the extra funding was great news for the community of East Hampshire.
ÒIt is extremely good news because we can provide more housing than we might otherwise have been able to do,Ó he said.
Mr Venning added that the credit for the successful bid must go to the officers at EHDCÕs housing department.
Julia Potter, head of housing at EHDC, said the money would have positive knock on benefits for the councilÕs housing provisions.
ÒThe money will fund some of the units at Ramshill, though we will still need to put some money in. We would have been looking at finding £5m ourselves if the government had not come up with this money.
ÒInstead of taking all our money for just one or two schemes, we can now look to fund other schemes that become available.Ó
Mrs Potter added that the cash injection could mean that affordable homes at the two Alton sites are made available sooner because the funding has now been secured.