Barnet Council has received £3.1m this year through the New Homes Bonus to build much-needed homes in the local area.  

The New Homes Bonus is a multi-billion pound programme that rewards communities when they accept more housebuilding in their area, with extra reward for building new affordable homes, and for getting long-term empty homes back into use.

Building on the flagship Housing Strategy, the Government has unveiled a range of measures to:

* help first-time buyers onto the housing ladder through lower deposit requirements;

* hand over disused public land for 100,000 new homes; and

* end a long-standing ‘tax on tenants’ in a £19 billion deal enabling councils to keep the rents they collect and invest the money in homes.

Commenting after the announcement, Mike Freer MP said, “Labour led Britain into a housing crisis - the number of affordable homes fell, waiting lists almost doubled and first-time buyer numbers collapsed to their lowest level for a generation. Housebuilding is already up a quarter under the Coalition Government, and Boris has delivered 50,000 affordable homes.

But there remains a shortage, which is why I welcome this funding which will help local people onto the housing ladder, provide more affordable housing and create local jobs.”