Strategic partners likely to see first SAHP grant payments from October
Strategic partners are likely to start receiving grant payments from October this year under the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP).
Strategic partners are likely to start receiving grant payments from October this year under the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme #UKhousingBidding for the programme opens next month, and Homes England has now confirmed that strategic partnership allocations will be made in the summer, with the first grant payments anticipated from October.
Homes England’s recent investment roadmap had said initial allocations will be made from July for strategic partners and from March for continuous market engagement (CME).
The agency also said it is using bridge funding provided by the government last year to enable partners to continue development activity in the gap between the end of the 2021-26 grant programme and the first payments being made later in the year.
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Homes England partners can access more than £700m SAHP cap if they ‘demonstrate good deliverability’
Partners that have unfunded delivery requiring commitment for starts in the first two quarters of the year – and that have not already accessed bridge funding – should engage with their Homes England contacts now, according to the agency.
On Friday, the agency published guidance on what partners need to include in their bid under both the CME and strategic partnership routes.
It set out bidding guidelines for the new portfolio CME route, which is intended to support smaller providers with schemes that may be at different stages of delivery, stating that bids should deliver between 300 and 500 new homes over the 10 years of the programme.
“Where proposals sit outside but close to this range, we encourage partners to speak to us,” the guidance says.
The agency also explained its assessment criteria for strategic partnership bids, with 50% assessed on value for money and 50% assessed on whether the scheme meets strategic objectives, including social rent delivery, diverse delivery and design and sustainability.
Just under a third of the strategic objectives assessment is weighted towards social rent delivery, and providers proposing to deliver at least 60% of homes at social rent are awarded maximum points.
In November, Homes England told Inside Housing that strategic partners can access funding above the £700m cap if the agency has “certainty and confidence in deliverability”.
The recent guidance said: “Successful applications for strategic partnerships will be subject to a rolling funding cap of £700m.
“Strategic partners will be eligible to request additional funding where they can demonstrate delivery against their existing allocation and there is headroom against the rolling funding cap... The rolling funding cap is not a maximum cap on the amount of funding a strategic partner can receive over the programme period.
“Additional funding requests must show how they align with the strategic priorities of the programme and be deliverable. Any additional funding request will be subject to budget availability and assessment.”
Strategic partners delivering in Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities are also expected in their bids to explain how they plan to engage with metro mayor priorities.
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