Work started on 1,140 new dwellings in the three months up to the end of August – an impressive 3.2 per cent of nationwide home starts and more than in areas such as Greater Manchester and Liverpool as well as many regions outside the North West.
The impressive figures have been hailed as a very encouraging result by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which has prioritised house-building in the county.
LEP works to support and encourage local businesses. It aims to build more homes as part of a massive investment programme to create 50,000 new jobs and boost the local economy by £3bn.
LEP has made funding available across Lancashire for homes and has identified potential sites for development. A major house building programme is central to the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal, the LEP’s once-in-a-lifetime funding programme to transform central Lancashire. The LEP’s Growing Places Fund is also being used to unlock housing developments across the county.
The latest figures show that this is having an effect as house building ramps up.
The Government statistics show that Lancashire’s total of house starts this quarter exceeds the 1,100 for Greater Manchester, Cheshire’s 670, Liverpool city region’s 430 and Cumbria’s 400.
In terms of housing completions, Lancashire delivered a credible 850 new homes – less than Greater Manchester and other northern cities but more than many other areas such as Cheshire and Cumbria.
Chair of the LEP, Edwin Booth, said: “This is a strong performance. It is a real achievement to be one of the best counties at house building outside of the housing bubble in the South East of England.
“New homes for the increasing numbers of employees and their families, along with other infrastructure, are being delivered by our City Deal funding and are an essential part of our ambitious multi-million pound programme to grow the local economy by £3bn and create tens of thousands of new jobs.
“These new homes are a clear indication to local people of the tangible improvements the LEP is making to the local economy. We will continue to work with our local authority and developer partners to deliver sustainable housing growth in Lancashire.”
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