Housing

Harlow MP welcomes New Homes Bonus cash for Harlow Council

Published on 3 December 2011

HARLOW MP Robert Halfon has welcomed the news that Harlow Council is to receive almost £500,000 from the Government's New Homes Bonus scheme. 

The authority will get a total of £442,473 which will fund essential community services, and pay for more affordable housing in the town. 

Mr Halfon said: "This is great news for Harlow residents. The New Homes Bonus is a powerful, simple and transparent incentive for housing growth and is a key part of the Government's housing growth focus for our national housing strategy. 

"Locally I have been campaigning for ten years to bring more affordable housing into Harlow and his financial contribution will go some way to achieving this."

Harlow MP Robert Halfon repeats call over housing money

Published on 29 June 2011

HARLOW MP Robert Halfon has used a House of Commons debate to repeat his demands that local people should have priority of housing waiting lists. 

He also wants to see money collected by Harlow Council for rents and capital receipts spent in Harlow and taken away by central Government.

Mr Halfon said: "The good news is that the coalition is making important strides in the right direction.

"The Localism Bill will give first call to local residents and the Government have agreed not to take away our £13 million in rent money collected each year." 

Mr Halfon added: "I also urged the Housing Minister to boost shared equity schemes, so as to give people a first step on the housing ladder and look at the introduction of a housing voucher scheme so individuals in need of social housing would have a real choice in the private rented sector." 

Mr Halfon told the debate about Social Housing that such accommodation was "an enormously valuable national asset".

In Harlow more than 12,000 households are in social housing - about one third of the town - with a further 4,000 households on the waiting list, down from 7,000 under the previous Government. 

Mr Halfon added: "Social housing is the number one issue in my constituency mailbox but it is not just about putting a roof over people’s head- although that is, of course, the central mission. 

"Social housing is a mechanism by which we measure social justice and help people to escape the poverty trap."

Harlow MP Robert Halfon welcomes new homes cash boost for town as part of his continuing fight to get more housing money for Harlow people

Published on 6 April 2011

HARLOW Council is to receive £231,938 thanks to the Government's New Homes Bonus. 

The money, announced today by Housing Minister Grant Shapps, is the final allocation of the New Homes Bonus which fulfills the Government's coalition agreement commitment to provide local authorities with real incentives to deliver housing growth. 

Mr Halfon has continued to fight hard to get more housing money for Harlow people and has met with Local Government Minister Bob Neill on several occasions to press the case for extra funding for the town.

The New Homes Bonus means that for each addition to the council's housing stock, including properties brought back into use, Harlow Council will receive match funding for the council tax paid for each of the next six years. 

Mr Halfon said: "This is great news for Harlow Council and for its residents. 

"The council will be able to use this money in whatever way it likes, and in particular to make the development more acceptable to local people." 

The scheme will be administered by match funding the additional council tax potential from increases in effective housing stock, with an additional amount of £350 per annum for affordable homes, for the following six years.