Around half of the 260,000 new homes projected to be built in England this year and next will be directly funded by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

The agency’s Corporate Plan, which covers the period April 2009 to March 2011, outlines how it will use £6.75bn of its budget to directly deliver 117,000 new homes, the vast majority of which will be for affordable rent or sale.

Thousands more homes will be unlocked by this funding and by the HCA’s wider regeneration and growth activities with a total budget of £13.6bn. Through the plan, the HCA has pledged to focus on delivery using innovative approaches such as the Public Land Initiative, new models of investment and private rental activity and to maximise the scale and impact of its Programmes.

Sir Bob Kerslake, HCA’s chief executive, said: “This plan sets out our stall for the next two years. We will continue to put a premium on new and affordable homes, but we are about building communities as well so regeneration, improving existing stock and promoting sustainability will also be critically important.

“We will continue to be creative in identifying new forms of funding and new opportunities for delivery. Despite the continued challenging market conditions and tightening public finances, we are determined to deliver on our targets.”

Within the affordable housing budget, over 63,000 of the new homes will be for social rent with nearly 43,000 for affordable sale via HomeBuy. An additional £350m will be available to local councils to build new homes for social rent.