The £5 million bond, which is the first to be released by Allia C&C this financial year, will support the completion of two new housing developments within Berwickshire.

The first phase of homes at Springfield in Duns will comprise of 29 affordable homes including a mix of house types comprising of four cottage flats, 16 two-bedroomed houses and nine three-bedroomed homes.

The second site located in Ayton will provide 31 new homes in its first phase, consisting of a mix of bungalows, wheelchair access properties and family homes including three and four-bedroom houses.

Both developments will help meet the demand for affordable housing and address the housing needs of the area. The new homes will be of a modern and spacious design and will have high standards of insulation making them very energy efficient. This will also make a significant contribution towards helping tackle the issue of fuel poverty by keeping running costs low for tenants.

Eleanor Rooke, finance director of Berwickshire Housing Association, comments on the new funding partnership: “We are thrilled to have secured support from Allia C&C for these two development projects. The Springfield and Ayton developments will deliver 60 much needed affordable homes in the Berwickshire area.

“The Allia funding model is well aligned to our long term business plan and the process of obtaining the bond was efficient and straightforward, with excellent support from the Allia team.”

Allia C&C has been supporting the vital development of affordable homes across Scotland with its Scottish Charitable Bond programme. The bonds provide simple, affordable loans to housing associations solely for building affordable housing, using Scottish Government investment.

The interest on the loans enables the Scottish Government to also provide grants for further social housing benefit. The loans are available for 5 to 15 years on an unsecured basis with light covenants in place, and no loan or interest repayments are made until the end of the term.

Daniel Carrico, head of origination at Allia C&C, added: “We’re really pleased to be working with Berwickshire Housing Association on this project. This is the first loan to be issued in the 2020/21 programme, which has a £40m investment from the Scottish Government. We’re looking forward to supporting more housing associations in their development of affordable housing this year and creating further social impact.”