The organisation in charge of Britain’s airports has put up £2.2m to build affordable homes near Stansted airport.
The number of homes has not yet been decided but will for general needs and key workers.

Four councils – East Hertfordshire, Uttlesford, Harlow and Braintree – have chosen up to eight registered social landlords to bid for the BAA cash, which will help to kick-start the London Stansted Cambridge growth corridor called for in the Communities Plan. The RSLs are thought to include Flagship, Anglia and Moat.

The parties had their first meeting about the deal on 2 April. They must submit bids by June and the winner will be chosen in the summer.

BAA set up the fund last year as part of its obligations under planning gain, the system by which developers provide housing in return for planning permission, when it got the nod to raise Stansted passenger numbers to 25 million by 2010.

Geoff Talbot, senior planning manager at BAA, said: “The idea is to increase flexibility and increase resources.” He added that the fund was not aimed at BAA employees but councils could decide whether they should count as key workers.

The cash could be backed up with Housing Corporation grant if needed.

Source

Housing Today