Key workers to get home purchase help

KEY workers in the Lewes area should soon be able to afford to buy better homes, thanks to a joint initiative by Moat Housing Group and Lewes District Council.

Moat, a housing association group based in Sevenoaks, has received confirmation of funding from The Housing Corporation to provide affordable homes for key workers under the Government s Starter Home Initiative (SHI).

Moat has been chosen as the lead housing association for the SHI programme throughout Sussex, Kent and Essex, controlling over 14 million to house 534 key workers in the four counties. Overall, Moat has been allocated 22.5 million to help 935 key workers afford to buy their first home in over 20 local authority areas in London and the South East.

Moat and Lewes District Council submitted a joint bid for funding earlier this year. This will enable nurses, health workers, teachers and a limited number of other key worker groups to purchase homes closer to their places of work, helping to ease staffing and recruitment problems in important local public services.

Cllr. Rod Wilson, lead member for housing, welcomed this initiative: I am a little disappointed that the funding for East Sussex is not as much as we might have expected. Nevertheless, we hope this will help people with key jobs such as nurses, teachers, health workers and others who are crucial to our community.

John Barker, Group Chief Executive of Moat Housing Group, said: Many young couples and single people simply cannot afford to buy a first home outright in the area. The Starter Homes Initiative represents a new approach to housing essential key workers in areas where homes are expensive.

Within the scheme, eligible key workers purchase a percentage of the equity in a property of their choice, close to where they work, using either a mortgage or savings. They are then provided with a loan that is paid off when the property is eventually re-sold. This will bring down the price of home ownership for key workers and help make sure public services in the area can continue to attract good quality staff.

Moat Housing Group provides affordable home ownership for over 300 households every year and manages over 11,000 homes, including around 3,200 for shared ownership. For more information on Starter Homes Initiative and affordable home ownership please call the Moat customer enquiry helpline on 07002 662846.