The Government is injecting life – and cash – in to the housing market by building homes Joe Public can afford. Knight Franks’ Gill Lamprell reports:

Back in 2008, a time which we will hopefully look back at and regard as being the worst part of the recession, many new build developments were stalled and considered unviable due to the lack of funding.

The low levels of housing being built is a huge concern as we are now left with a situation of limited stock and 2010 could see unprecedented supply shortages.

Some new hope was instilled when plans to fund a £400m ‘kick-start’ scheme, to help a handful of developments stalled during the recession, were announced by The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) at the beginning of this year.

The shortlist of developments to receive funding was announced in August, and nine are in Kent – two in Ashford, two in Dartford, two in Dover, one at Chatham Maritime, one at Sandgate, and another in Tunbridge Wells.

To have a chance of being chosen they have to be developments which can plausibly make a big difference to housing supply with minimum intervention.

We now know that the first project in Kent to get the green light is Repton Park, Ashford. A former Army barracks, this project will help deliver 56 homes.

This will include 31 HomeBuy Direct houses, 10 open market sale homes, four social rented homes and 11 low-cost homes, with builders due to start on site at the beginning of 2010.

Persimmon Homes will also create apprenticeships or have a local labour scheme on this site.

The final selection process for the remaining schemes across the country is still under way and we won’t know the full outcome until later this month as some are still going through due diligence.

Ultimately, Kickstart should help the struggling construction industry.

The Kent market needs homes which the average man on the street can afford to buy and this funding should support the delivery of these homes.

It does not surprise me that the first selected project is in Ashford, as this is an area where demand for housing is rising and the area is becoming even more desirable since the announcements about the improvements to the rail links.

• Gill Lamprell is head of southern residential development at Knight Frank. For more details call 01483 564660.