Up to £160m to unlock stalled sites for SME house builders

A multi-million pound Welsh Government loan fund will support small and medium sized builders to unlock stalled sites and build more houses across Wales.Housing and Regeneration Minister Rebecca Evans announced the fund at the SME Builder Breakfast Roadshow at Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli, an event showcasing the support on offer to small and medium sized building firms in Wales.The £40m loan fund has a four year repayment term, and is projected to be recycled four times over seventeen years, underlining the Welsh Government’s long term commitment to supporting small and medium-sized builders to deliver homes and skilled jobs across the country.Research in 2015 suggested there were potentially 7,600 homes on nearly 400 sites across Wales, where progression has been halted for a wide range of reasons, from pre development works and economic viability, to challenges in securing affordable funding. These are known as stalled sites, most of which are suitable for the SME sector to develop. Stalled sites could be unlocked through investment and support at an early stage, such as groundwork, infrastructure improvement or simply assisting with cash flow.