Selwood Housing secures £55m to build affordable and sustainable homes

Selwood Housing, the South West-based not-for-profit housing association, is pressing on with plans to build 1,700 affordable and energy-efficient homes by 2034, with support from Lloyds Bank.

Lloyds Bank has provided Selwood Housing with a £55m revolving credit facility, which allows it to access funding up to an agreed limit over a period of time.

The housing association is working to ensure that all of its homes reach the ambitious target of EPC C rating or above by 2030, ahead of the Government’s regulatory requirement of 2035, as part of its quest to achieve net zero by 2050. Currently, 75% of its housing stock is EPC C rating or above, with more than 90% of its new builds being built to a minimum rating of EPC B, which Lloyds Bank’s funding will also help to maintain.

Selwood Housing has been a customer of Lloyds Bank since it was founded in 2001 and now has more than 7,000 homes for rent and shared ownership across Bath, wider Somerset and Wiltshire.

The organisation is working towards reaching its sustainability targets by adopting a ‘fabric first’ approach in its development programmes, meaning it prioritises the energy efficiency of a property right from conception and through the design and development process, such as choosing suitable core materials for doors, walls and windows, to ensure it meets the necessary requirements.

Mark Mayler, Group Finance Director at Selwood Housing, said: “Our commitment to supplying affordable and sustainable housing to help revitalise our local communities remains at the heart of everything we do. Lloyds Bank has backed our vision from the very start and this latest support will ensure we can continue to make a real difference and tackle the housing challenge head on in the South West for many years to come.”

Earlier this year, Lloyds Banking Group announced a new partnership with homelessness charity Crisis and called for one million new social homes to be built over the next decade.

Valeriia Watts, Associate Director of Real Estate and Housing at Lloyds Bank, added: “The team at Selwood Housing recognise how important it is to build homes that can both help plug the housing gap in the coming years but are also fit for the future. We’re proud to support vital housing providers like Selwood Housing to help them reach their sustainability targets and give more people access to affordable housing.”