Philip Hammond also announces 拢300m railway spending for north of England

philip-hammond

Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has confirmed the government will top-up the 鈥楬elp To Buy鈥� scheme with a futher 拢10bn of funding and spend 拢300m to 鈥渇uture-proof鈥� the railway network in the north of England.

Speaking at the Conservative party鈥檚 annual conference in Manchester today, Hammond (pictured) said the government planned to 鈥渙pen up derelict land for development for housing and for jobs鈥nd connect our communities to make them more productive.

Hammond announced an extra 拢10bn in funding to provide loans under 鈥楬elp To Buy鈥� through to 2021, when the scheme expires.

He said the move would help an estimated 130,000 more homebuyers over the next few years, doubling the number of people who had used the scheme to buy their own home since Help To Buy was introduced by Hammond鈥檚 predecessor, George Osborne, in 2013.

However Hammond did not commit the government to extending 鈥楬elp To Buy鈥� past 2021, something many in the housebuilding sector have been calling for, including the Home Builders Federation.

He did announce a further 拢300m to future-proof the railway network in the north, 鈥渆nsuring HS2 infrastructure can link up with future Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Rail projects while keeping open all options for services through Manchester Piccadilly鈥�.

 

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