A scheme to boost home ownership has created more than 5,500 new homeowners in Yorkshire – including 256 across Kirklees.

Figures from the Department for Local Government show that more than 54,000 have been helped across England by the Help to Buy Scheme – with more than 39,000 households buying new-built properties through the Equity Loan and NewBuy options and 15,000 households buying through the Mortgage Guarantee.

A further 3,400 new homeowners have been created in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland through the Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee.

A breakdown of the Kirklees figures shows that 99 households secured their homes through the Equity Loan option, 14 did so via NewBuy and 143 bought through the Mortgage Guarantee. regional figures shows that

In Calderdale there were a total of 170 new owners.

Of those 65 went through the Equity Loan scheme and 14 through the New Buy scheme.

Nationally, about eight out of 10 sales went to first-time buyers. As a result, thousands of new home owners were created and private housebuilding starts rose by a third.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said house building was now at its highest level since 2007, construction output had seen the sharpest expansion for eight months and companies were now taking on workers at the fastest rate since 1997.

He said: “Over 54,000 new homeowners have now used the schemes as a valuable alternative to the ‘bank of mum and dad’ – enabling them to buy with a fraction of the deposit they would normally require.

“But it’s also got Britain building and since the scheme’s launch private housebuilding starts has increased by a third.”