News / Resonance
Major funding boost for community-led housing initiative
A Bristol-based social impact investor has received a major funding boost from the government to support its housing initiative.
Resonance has secured a significant £20m investment from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to back community-led housing projects.
The initiative sets to empower local communities to take control over the design and location of housing, enabling them to access land and planning permission often out of reach for speculative developers.
is needed now More than ever
This marks the first time the government has supported this funding model at such a scale, with the goal of addressing key financial barriers to housing delivery.
“We welcome this government’s further commitment to community-led housing,” said Jon Rolls, head of developing communities at Resonance
An initial £6m is available immediately to kickstart developments, forming part of a long-term, sustainable investment strategy. The fund is expected to grow to around £50m through a combination of grant and private investment.
“We welcome this government’s further commitment to community-led housing,” said Jon Rolls, head of developing communities at Resonance.
“With the first £6m ready to deploy straightaway, we are already working with communities to unlock land and move projects forward—projects that will provide much-needed, affordable, quality homes for families.
At the same time, we are actively seeking additional investors to help us scale this fund to its full £50m potential.”
The investment arrives at a time when the government has pledged to build 1.5m homes across England, including a £2bn injection of new grant funding to deliver up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes.
Matthew Pennycook, housing and planning minister, said: “Community-led housing not only delivers social and affordable homes for local people, but also gives local communities a greater say in where new homes are built and how they are designed.
“This investment will help community-based organisations overcome barriers to housing delivery and support the growth of the community-led housing sector.
Through our Plan for Change, we are boosting housing supply and reforming the housing system—delivering on our commitment to the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.”
Resonance Community Developers is a social investment fund that supports and invests in communities, aiming to help them create and own assets that meet local needs.
All photos: Resonance
Read next:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
