Manydown: 3,520-Home Loan Moves to National Housing Bank

The government loan that is meant to pay for the roads, drainage and earthworks at Manydown North is changing lender. A report to the Leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council asks him to approve swapping the lender’s name in the loan documents from Homes England to the National Housing Bank.

The decision is due on or after 25 August 2026. It is listed as a non-key decision and residents can make representations to the Leader, Cllr Paul Harvey, before he takes it.

The council is blunt about what the change is. “The change is administrative in nature and reflects the transfer of responsibilities from Homes England to the National Housing Bank,” the report says. It adds that there is “no change to the proposed terms, conditions, value, security arrangements, or repayment obligations”. The paperwork behind it, though, sets out how much of Basingstoke’s largest development depends on this one credit line.

What the loan is for

The facility was approved in principle by the Leader on 26 March 2026. The report for that decision sets out what it buys. The money funds infrastructure and remediation works at Manydown North, specifically:

• access and highways
• drainage and utilities
• earthworks and landscaping
• s106 contributions

Together those works are described as “enabling the delivery of 3,520 homes at Manydown North”. Site preparation is already under way: Urban&Civic has started building construction access, roads and utilities before any houses go up.

The value of the loan has not been published. It sits in a confidential appendix to the March report, so neither the amount borrowed nor the interest terms are on the public record.

Who is borrowing from whom

Manydown is not owned or built by the council alone, and the chain of companies matters here because the borrower is not the landowner.

Manydown Garden Communities LLP is the joint venture between the borough council and Hampshire County Council. It owns the freehold of the development site and holds 50% of the delivery company.

Manydown Development Vehicle LLP is that delivery company, a joint venture between Manydown Garden Communities and Urban&Civic. It is the borrower.

Because the borrower does not own the land, a separate Direct Agreement was needed between the lender, both LLPs, both councils, Urban&Civic Manydown Limited and Urban&Civic PLC, so the lender’s investment could be secured against the site.

What has changed, and what has not

According to the 14 August report:

• the lender’s name in the documents changes from the Homes and Communities Agency, trading as Homes England, to the National Housing Bank
• the terms, conditions, value, security and repayment obligations are unchanged
• the council’s obligations are unchanged
• the delegation to the Director of Regeneration, granted in March, stays in place
• the report states the decision “does not have any direct financial implications”

The report also spells out the risk of not making the change. Without it, the council could not approve the delivery company entering the new loan facility, which it says would be “a potential risk to delivering the Manydown development site”.

Why the lender changed

The National Housing Bank Limited was set up by Homes England on 31 March 2026, and Homes England “has transferred its lending and investment functions” to it, the council’s report says.

Homes England launched the bank publicly on 1 April 2026. It is a subsidiary of Homes England, backed by government, and it says it will deploy up to £16 billion of debt, equity and guarantees, supporting more than 500,000 homes and unlocking more than £53 billion of private investment over ten years. Basingstoke’s is one of the loans that moved across with the lending function.

How Manydown got here

• July 2018: the borough council’s Cabinet and Hampshire County Council approve setting up Manydown Garden Communities LLP.
• July 2020: Manydown Development Vehicle LLP is established.
• 20 December 2021: outline planning permission is granted for a new garden community at Manydown North.
• October 2024: the councils buy the freehold from Manydown 2018 Ltd and transfer the land to Manydown Garden Communities LLP.
• 24 January 2025: the loan term sheet is approved, subject to amendments.
• 27 January to 23 February 2026: the three boards involved recommend approval.
• 26 March 2026: the Leader approves the facility with Homes England.
• 14 August 2026: the report seeking the change of lender is published.

The council’s own plan describes Manydown as having “the potential to accommodate 8,000 homes over the next 20 years”, with Manydown North providing up to 3,520 of them.

What it means for you

Nothing about your council tax or the planning permission changes here. What is worth watching is the sequencing. The loan pays for the roads, drainage and earthworks that have to exist before anyone can move in, which is why the report calls the change “critical to enable” the development to continue.

If you want to comment, representations go to the Leader of the Council before the decision is taken on or after 25 August. The contact addresses are on the issue page.

And if you want the number, you will not find it. The value of the facility is in a confidential appendix, so the public record shows what the loan is for and who is lending it, but not how much Basingstoke’s biggest development is borrowing.

More on development in the borough is on our planning news page, and the house prices page tracks what homes in the borough are selling for.

Sources

• Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Manydown Development Vehicle LLP: Loan Facility Amendment to lender, report to the Leader, 14 August 2026.
• Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, issue details for the proposed decision.
• Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, MGC LLP Loan Facility Agreement Report, Leader’s decision, 26 March 2026.
• Homes England, National Housing Bank launch, 1 April 2026.