The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government visited a Help to Buy development in Bedford.

Mr Eric Pickles MP met staff and residents at Barratt Homes’ Orchid Fields development in Kempston, as new figures revealed since it was introduced Help to Buy has been used to support the sale of around 50,000 homes in England - with around 800 in Bedford and Central Bedfordshire in the first 16 months of the scheme.

Mr Pickles said: “The 2008 housing crash devastated our housing industry. locking thousands of aspiring homeowners out of the market for years, and leading to a loss of a quarter of a million construction jobs.

“The government’s long-term economic plan, including Help to Buy, has turned it around leading developers to build more homes and creating thousands of jobs across the country, and helping around 50,000 housholds to buy with a fraction of the deposit they would normally require - over 80 per cent of which are first time buyers.”

At Orchid Fields, where more than 100 homes are being built, 70 are currently available through Help to Buy with 26 reserved using the scheme,

Barratt has pledged to take on 1,100 graduates, apprentices and trainees nationally over the next three years. For information on Orchid Fields visit www.barratthomes.co.uk.

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