Funding given to a housing association is meant to pave the way for new social homes.

Watford Community Housing has secured £3.3m grant from Homes England, a public body that funds affordable housing in the country, to help deliver social housing in Watford.

Watford Borough Council working in partnership with the association plans to deliver 55 new homes with the money given by the grant in 2019 - some of the homes will be in Bowmans Green and Woodmere Avenue.

Gareth Lewis, group director of Partnerships for Watford Community Housing, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have received funding to provide a significant amount of social housing in Watford.

“We are committed to delivering high-quality homes across a range of tenures, to ensure that they are genuinely affordable for residents.

“The additional funding from Homes England helps us to maximise the number of homes that we can provide for social rent through our partnership with Watford Borough Council.

“We hope that these new homes will give local people the chance to live in a home that really meets their needs.”

Watford Community Housing hopes to build around 1000 new homes in the town by 2020.

Currently the association is building 330 homes and are already starting to build a further 76.

This grant marks the first programme to develop properties for social rent in Watford – the funding, says the housing association, will provide new homes that are affordable in the South-East.

Elected Mayor Peter Taylor said: “I am determined that Watford remains a town for everyone.

“One of my manifesto commitments is to work with Watford Community Housing to build new social and affordable homes.

“This extra funding from Homes England will help us provide homes for Watford families who really need them the most.”