FAST work by Fenland District Council and Roddons Housing Association has won funding for 47 new affordable homes in Chatteris.

They seized the chance to put together a joint bid for money that had become available from the Homes and Communities Agency at very short notice. Despite competition from several rival bidders, they succeeded in securing �1.93million for the development.

The much-needed new homes will be on the Treeway development in Chatteris. They will include 12 homes available for families to buy on a shared ownership basis. The funding will also kickstart the site to enable the developers to build an extra 20 homes for sale on the open market.

Building work is expected to start on the site within the next two months.

There is a serious shortage of affordable homes throughout the country. Latest statistics show that in Fenland the numbers of people on the official housing register under Home-Link rose by nearly 11 per cent between July and September 2010 – up from 2,506 to 2747.

Meanwhile, the recession has also hit the building industry hard.

Councillor Kit Owen, FDC’s portfolio holder responsible for housing, said: “Pulling this funding into Fenland at a time of financial restraint and in the face of fierce competition shows the effectiveness of good partnership working. Not only will this provide homes for local people, it will also assist the local economy.”

Christopher Smith, managing director of Roddons, part of leading affordable housing provider Circle Anglia, said: “Roddons is committed to building affordable homes in Fenland, in partnership with Fenland District Council. We are really pleased to have secured �1.93million funding from the HCA in this difficult economic climate.

“To make this development happen, we are matching this with �3million of our own funding. We are really looking forward to starting to build this exciting - and much needed - development in the spring.”