Warwickshire County Council has agreed to explore the setting up of a Priority Worker Help to Buy (PWHTB) scheme, designed to complement the national Help To Buy Scheme.
Warwickshire County Council has agreed to explore the setting up of a Priority Worker Help to Buy (PWHTB) scheme, designed to complement the national Help To Buy Scheme.
Cabinet approved the plan to progress the development of the PWHTB scheme to facilitate home ownership for priority workers* who may not otherwise be able to move onto, or up, the property ladder in Warwickshire. Local knowledge and insight will inform who qualifies for the scheme, which will be determined on a site-by-site basis.
The newly formed Warwickshire Property & Development Group (WPDG) will be delivering new affordable and market priced housing across the county, and will play a vital role in providing the homes available through the PWHTB scheme.
Working in partnership with Homes England, WPDG will facilitate the development of sites in Warwickshire, providing more affordable housing, while also supporting the recovery of the local economy, with the PWHTB scheme playing a significant role in this.
The PWHTB scheme will also provide a recruitment and retention tool for those employing priority workers living and working in the county.
Key elements of the proposed PWHTB scheme include:
- The provision of equity-based loans to priority workers within the county and within an income eligibility threshold (to be determined), who wish to purchase homes developed via the WPDG.
- Potential opportunities for the homeowner to buy out the council’s equity stake.
- Potentially broader eligibility criteria than existing Help to Buy schemes, for example eligible to existing home owners, as long as it is their only home and the other PWHTB scheme criteria are met.
- Loans to be interest free for a period of five years, after which it would convert into an interest bearing loan, giving the option to refinance and repay so that WCC gets its investment percentage back based on the house value at that time.
- The product will be developed on a site-by-site basis taking account of the local priority worker recruitment and retention issues at the time.
Work will now begin on detailed financial analysis to establish the precise parameters of the scheme, which is expected to be ready for when homes become available on appropriate sites developed by WPDG.
Cllr Peter Butlin says: “This is an exciting initiative which, once finalised, will fill in some of the gaps left by current national schemes and help us assist priority workers in Warwickshire to own their own homes. It is also part of the County Council’s post-pandemic Recovery Plan for the county, as it will allow us to match our assets to our economic needs and skills gaps, building on our work to shape Warwickshire as a fantastic place to live, work and thrive.”
* There are a number of definitions of priority/ key workers, but the potential groups to be covered by the scheme - yet to be confirmed - include those working in the NHS; education; police; fire service; Local Authority and Ministry of Defence.
NOTES TO EDITORS
To read the full report visit: Warwickshire County Council Cabinet Papers