Newlon Housing Trust receives £15m GLA grant

Newlon Housing Trust has signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Greater London Authority which will add £15m to the trust’s coffers as it seeks to build more than 1,200 affordable homes by 2022.

The Tottenham-based trust owns or manages 8,000 homes across the north and east of the capital and the new deal with the GLA will help it build 378 of its target of 1,265 new homes, 88% of which will be what it called “truly affordable”.

A Newlon spokesman said key benefits of the strategic partnership agreement included the certainty of the grant – £15.1m – which would enable the trust to plan ahead for its programme of building new affordable homes.

The opportunity to draw down the grant flexibly would offer the trust better liquidity, while the agreement’s flexibility meant it could do away with micro-management and scheme by scheme approval, allowing Newlon what it called “greater flexibility to deliver our overall programme”.

Jules Pipe, deputy mayor for planning, regeneration and skills, said: “The work of Newlon Housing Trust has already made a huge difference to the capital, delivering genuinely affordable homes that Londoners so desperately need.

“The Mayor is using all the resources and funding at his disposal to tackle the housing crisis, including our new support package for small and medium housing associations.

“Our new strategic partnership will help Newlon go even further, providing hundreds of people in north and east London with a home to finally call their own.”