UK affordable housing provider Stonewater has secured over £350m in funding from Homes England to expand its new build programme. The funding will support the construction of thousands of social and affordable homes across England in the coming years.
Stonewater manages over 40,000 homes across the country. The company is delivering one of the largest affordable housing programmes in the UK, with funding from the government agency a key element of this model.
The organisation has secured an additional £247m in funding from existing strategic partnerships, bringing the total resource under these programmes to over £350m. The funding is intended to build an additional 2,547 homes, and the average grant size per home has been increased from around £11,000 to £96,000.
The company has two main strategic programmes with Homes England. Under the first, implemented in conjunction with the Guinness Partnership, Stonewater is to build 1,731 homes by March 2026 with grant funding of £89 million. The second program envisages the independent construction of 2,680 homes by March 2029 with funding of £229 million.
Focus on social and energy-efficient housing
Stonewater's new projects are aimed at social and affordable rental, Rent to Buy and shared ownership. Some of the schemes are being implemented on unused or former industrial sites, and also include serious energy efficiency measures.
Among the latest examples is the project in Hailsham, Sussex, where construction has begun on 124 affordable homes. They will be equipped with air-to-air heat pumps, solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations.
In Cheltenham, Stonewater has started construction on a further 158 affordable homes as part of a larger project of 250 homes. The scheme includes social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership.
Similar investments are also being made in West Yorkshire and Leicestershire, where the company is building new homes with renewable energy technologies, smart energy management systems and low-carbon heating.
Part of a wider government housing programme
The funding comes amid a significant expansion of the UK’s social and affordable housing policy. The government has earmarked £39 billion for the Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026-2036, with 60% of new homes to be social rented.
For Stonewater, this means an opportunity to accelerate construction in areas with the greatest shortage of affordable housing, including smaller towns and rural areas.
The company is already building over 1,000 new homes a year, and its strategic partnership with Homes England allows it to maintain a high rate of investment despite more expensive financing and pressure on construction costs.
The new funding confirms that state-supported housing remains one of the UK's main tools for tackling the shortage of affordable homes and high house prices.
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighbourhood can be found at imot.bg