<p><span>The government has announced the allocation of £8.6 billion of funding in the first round of its five-year Affordable Homes Programme, with the funds set to deliver around 119,000 homes through nearly 90 new “strategic partnerships”.</span></p> <p><span>The allocation, which the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said was part of the largest single investment in affordable housing in a decade, will include the delivery of 57,000 homes for shared ownership, 29,600 for social rent and 6,250 affordable rural homes.</span></p> <p><span>MHCLG said that the new partnerships which had successfully bid for their share of the funding consisted of councils, housing associations and private providers. The allocation comes from the £11.5 billion Affordable Homes programme for 2021 to 2026 which will deliver up to 180,000 new affordable homes, “should economic conditions allow”. </span></p> <p><span>The £8.6 billion allocation, MHCLG noted, consisted of around half for “affordable home ownership, helping even more young people and families get a foot on the housing ladder”. </span></p> <p><span>It added that the funding for close to 30,000 social rent homes – usually offered at around 50-60% of market prices - would provide “</span><span>secure, affordable housing to people who need it most”. </span><span></span></p> <p><span>Homes England, the government’s …