Welsh government announces £24m land acquisition loan fund

Under the Land for Housing scheme, which has been running for a decade, when construction funding is secured, the loan is repaid and reinvested in new projects, creating a “sustainable cycle of housing development”.

Jane Bryant, the cabinet secretary for housing and local government, said: “I’m incredibly proud of how the scheme is making a real difference to people’s lives across Wales.”

She cited the example of a 100-home scheme for social rent, in Grangetown, near Cardiff city centre, which has been delivered by Wales & West Housing and was completed in phases between September 2021 and autumn 2022.

The 12,000-home association received £3m in loans in 2018 towards the acquisition of land, followed by £10m in grant funding to build the Ffordd Yr Haearn development. It includes 52 family homes with outdoor space and 48 flats. 

“When we invest in schemes like this, we’re not simply buying land – we’re investing in brighter futures for hundreds of people,” Ms Bryant said.

She added that the loan scheme has also been “instrumental in helping to build a strong pipeline of land sites, many of which contribute to our ambitious goal of 20,000 new low-carbon social homes during this Senedd term”.

Stuart Epps, executive director for finance, assets and development at Wales & West Housing, said: “We’ve used this funding for a number of housing developments across Wales in recent years. Having these loans from Welsh government is beneficial as it allows housing providers to buy land, freeing up other money that we can invest in building and planning more homes.”