Government support for Millbay welcomed

Millbay’s lead developer English Cities Fund has welcomed Government moves to support major regeneration schemes in Plymouth through the economic downturn.

It comes after Local Government Minister Iain Wright revealed that the Housing Corporation and the national regeneration agency English Partnerships are working with housing associations, Plymouth City Council and developers with the aim of ensuring that important construction schemes are delivered.

They are looking into making use of the recently announced £1 billion government package aimed at breathing life into the housing market, including help for first-time home buyers.

The Minister was speaking during a parliamentary debate brought by Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton Linda Gilroy, in which she highlighted the continuing need for homes in the city, despite the current economic situation.

He said: "The Housing Corporation and English Partnerships are working with registered social landlords, the city council and developers to restore developers' confidence and ensure that such important developments are delivered.

"To do so, they are considering making use of the £1billion housing package to which I have referred, particularly to support the renewed emphasis on investment and flexibility and to bring forward resources for up-front infrastructure."

Howard Morris, project director for Millbay's lead developer English Cities Fund (ECf), said: "The economy is going through an extraordinary period of turbulence and Millbay hasn't been immune to this. While we have complete faith in the quality of our first major development, Cargo, we have been affected like everyone else by a lack of confidence in the wider housing market and by the fact that those people who do want to buy – particularly first time buyers – have found difficulty getting mortgages.

"The wider regeneration of Millbay is a hugely exciting scheme which we firmly believe is going to transform the area and it has always been the case that to deliver this regeneration we would need as much support as possible from the public sector.

"We welcome what the Minister has said today which demonstrates that the government recognises the need to restore developers' confidence and the necessity for public sector support to bring forward resources for up-front infrastructure."