GOVERNMENT support for housebuilding will see councils, housing associations and contractors given £12 billion to allow for more affordable housing.

The fund, announced by Housing secretary Robert Jenrick, will see money being provided by the government to build up to 180,000 new affordable homes with 10 per cent aimed at helping people with physical or mental health challenges.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government is also planning a consultation to consider how best to raise accessibility standards for all new homes to help secure the right accommodation for elderly and vulnerable people.

The announcement was welcomed by West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin, who said it would help more people get on the housing ladder.

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She said: “One of the consistent questions I get from school children and students is how they will be able to live and work in the area where they grew up and I support this initiative to make property ownership possible for many more local people.

“I’m also particularly keen to see the detail on the consultation looking at what housing we need to invest in for the future.

“I am a huge fan of extra care housing and I feel that we need much more of these kind of developments as we deal with the challenges of an ageing population which lives much longer.

“There are a number of excellent extra care housing developments in West Worcestershire and I would like to see developers and housing associations plan for more provision locally.”

New figures from the Housing and Communities Agency (HCA) show the places where Help to Buy was used most often were Wychavon (1,254) and Worcester (535).

Of the total amount of homeowners to use the scheme, 2,334 were first time buyers.

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Elsewhere in the county, there have been 308 Help to Buy sales in Malvern Hills, 530 in Redditch, 463 in Bromsgrove and 250 in Wyre Forest.

The Help to Buy scheme allows would-be buyers to put down just five per cent as a deposit for their new home and take advantage of a government equity loan providing access to more affordable mortgage rates.

The scheme allows any homebuyer to secure a brand new home worth less than £600,000 with a five per cent deposit.

The government lends the buyer 20 per cent of the value of the property in an interest free loan for five years, meaning buyers can access better mortgage rates than would otherwise be available to them with a 75 per cent mortgage.