Homes England, the UK Government’s housing agency, has opened a competitive bid round for its latest intake of strategic partnership, it is seeking strategic partners with the ambition and capacity to deliver affordable housing at scale; organisations interested in applying have until 12 noon on 18^th May 2021 to submit their proposal online.

The strategic partnerships are one of two routes to access grant funding from Homes England via the Government’s Affordable Homes Programme (2021-2026). Rather than accessing funding on a scheme-by-scheme basis via Continuous Market Engagement, the strategic partners will enter a multi-year agreement with Homes England to deliver affordable housing. While strategic partnerships have historically only been available to not-for-profit providers, this time Homes England is welcoming proposals from for-profit affordable housing providers and developers, and local authorities.

Strategic partnerships play a pivotal role in Homes England’s mission to use everything at its disposal to intervene in the market to make homes happen. Partners can benefit from the certainty of affordable homes grant funding for the duration of the deal, with greater flexibility to deliver and bespoke access to the agency’s land and investment capabilities.

In return, the strategic partners will need to demonstrate how they are going to support Homes England’s strategi objectives within their development programme, including the adoption of modern methods of construction (MMC), a dedication to high-quality sustainable design and a commitment to working closely with SMEs.

Gordon More, Interim Chief Executive Homes England, said: “Our strategic partnership model is about working with ambitious organisations to maximise successful delivery through Government funding and use of our wider resources so we can increase innovation, diversify the sector and increase the supply of much needed affordable homes.

“Building on the successes of our existing strategic partnerships, we’re welcoming bids from a broader set of partners that are as committed as we are to design quality and modernisation.”

For more information about strategic partnerships and the Affordable Homes Programme (2021-2026), please visit Homes England set to launch bidding for strategic partnerships – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

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