A Penrith housebuilder has been awarded £4 million by the Government to help with a housing development.

Genesis Homes has secured the loan from the Government's £4.5 billion Home Building Fund.

It will help with Genesis Homes' ongoing St Bridget’s scheme at Brigham, near Cockermouth, and an off-site drainage improvement scheme to help the entire village.

The firm is currently building 37 homes at Brigham, eight of which will be deisgnated as "affordable".

Nicky Gordon, managing director of Genesis Homes, said: “We’re very excited to announce this support from Homes England which will contribute to the delivery of our new homes in Brigham.

"It’s great to see Homes England eager to work with small and medium housebuilders to deliver the number of homes needed.”

Colin MacCallum, transactions manager of Homes England, added: “Homes England’s objective is to support and create more SME developers to help diversify the market.

“We are pleased to have collaborated with Genesis Homes to provide finance for this scheme.

"St Bridget’s is another example of how we work with our partners and do things differently to address the shortage of housing and get more homes built.”

The Housing Delivery Fund offers loans from £4 million to £100 million to developers and house builders.

Barclays is providing £875 million of the fund and Homes England, the Government's housing agency, will contribute £125 million.

Barclays said it would diversify the housing market, as at present, nearly two-thirds of homes are built by just 10 companies.

Those behind the initiative said a key priority was supporting small and medium-sized businesses to develop homes for rent or sale, including social housing, retirement living and the private rented sector, while also helping innovation.

John McFarlane, Barclays' chairman, said: "There is a vital need to build more good quality homes across the country.

"This £1 billion fund is about helping to do exactly that by showing firms in the business of house building that the right finance is available for projects that help meet this urgent need.

"We are very pleased to be working with government to get the country building more homes, more quickly."

Housing Secretary James Brokenshire said: "This new fund, partnering Homes England with Barclays, is a further important step by giving smaller builders access to the finance they need to get housing developments off the ground.