THOUSANDS of people will be helped onto the housing ladder as part of a multi-billion-pound government plan to build more affordable homes.

Nearly 120,000 new homes will be built for young people and families in England in the next five years as part of a £8.6 billion package announced by housing secretary Robert Jenrick.

Around half of the homes are expected to be sold with tens of thousands of homes built to rent at a discount typically between 50 and 60 per cent of the market rate.

Worcester MP Robin Walker said giving more people the opportunity to own their own home was a “good thing.”

“Affordable housing has been one of the long-term challenges for place like Worcestershire as it’s a very nice place to live and inevitably the house prices do rise,” he said. “Part of that is a good thing as it means we have good infrastructure links and good employment prospects, but obviously we still do need affordable housing.

“I have long argued that it needs to be a mixture of affordable rent and affordable ownership and that I would like to see more forms of affordable ownership such as shared ownership.

“It’s really welcome that Robert Jenrick is announcing this major investment in delivering more affordable housing as part of the overall housing mix and that includes a significant proportion of affordable ownership.

“Allowing more people to own their own homes can only be a good thing and we want to get away from a situation where the younger generation find themselves in a situation in which they can only see any prospect of renting.

“Making sure there is a housing ladder onto which people can get – through having more affordable housing, more shared ownership and more models for affordable housing – is a good thing.”

Announcing the funding on Tuesday (August 31), housing secretary Robert Jenrick said the “landmark” funding would “make the ambition of owning a home a reality for families by making it realistic and affordable.”

“We are also ensuring tens of thousands of new homes for rent are built in the years ahead, including social rent, so those on the lowest incomes can enjoy good quality, secure rented homes, built and managed by reputable providers,” he added.