Jobs Boost Likely As Millions Pledged For Housing Growth

While the building industry is contracting fast, both locally and nationally, there was some good news on construction opportunities this week.

The UK Housing Minister Margaret Beckett has announced a £605 million allocation to 163 local authorities with long-term plans to increase house building to meet the needs of their communities.

Despite the current condition of the housing market, the long-term need to build more homes remains - the population is continuing to grow, people are living longer, and there are more single households.

A workforce will be needed to achieve the ambitious targets announced, and although the opportunities will be on the British mainland, past decades have seen thousands of people from across Ireland filling such vacancies before.

They will be needed over the next two years as this money will enable local authorities with ambitious plans for growth to invest in the essential services that need to accompany the building of new homes, from transport links and schools to the regeneration of town centres and the provision of parks and other green spaces.

Housing Minister Margaret Beckett said: "In these difficult economic times we must not lose sight of the long-term need to build more homes. Yet if the support for these new homes is not in place, their construction will be delayed when we need them most, hampering the economy's recovery.

"This means we need to be investing today in tomorrow's infrastructure, while allowing local authorities to decide their own local priorities for spending this money."

The £605m Growth Fund will be one of the funding streams managed on behalf of Government by the new Homes and Communities Agency.

"It is in addition to the £227m already paid out for the current year, and completes an overall investment package of £832m for these local authorities.

Nationally the Homes and Communities Agency will be working with local authorities to maximise the alignment of funding to area-wide objectives that serve existing and emerging local and regional strategies; and to ensure that projects create the capacity for strategic growth as well as also meeting local needs.

(JM)