THERESA May visited a housing development in Walkden this week after announcing a £10 billion boost to the Help to Buy scheme.

The Prime Minister was joined at the Scholars Green estate by Chancellor Philip Hammond and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, following the revelation that the Government wants to help another 135,000 people get on the property ladder.

Help to Buy, which launched in 2013, allows buyers to purchase a new home with just a 5 per cent deposit and a 75 per cent mortgage. The remaining 20 per cent is funded a Government loan, which is interest-free for the first five years and repayable on the sale of the home.

Mrs May said: “Help to Buy is helping tens of thousands of people access home ownership but it’s also helping to drive construction of the homes we need and the creation of vital jobs and investment in local communities.”

The ministers, who were in Manchester for the Conservative Party conference, met residents who had used help to buy to purchase a property at the Barratt Homes development.

David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt Homes, said, “It was excellent to be able to discuss with the Prime Minister how this funding will benefit people across the North West and further afield, as well as show her and the other ministers the work we are doing in Manchester to deliver high quality new homes.

“Help to Buy is helping make home ownership more affordable and, while it is also available for second steppers, more than 80 per cent of people using help to buy are first time buyers.”

Help to Buy has helped almost 6,000 people in Greater Manchester buy a new home, 381 of which are in Bolton.