Deputy head of council Cllr Cathy Mitchell said the two housing associations were building ‘genuinely affordable homes’.

In his report, Cllr Mitchell said the council had successfully administered a loan scheme since 2009 to support economic regeneration in Warrington and the surrounding sub-region.

She added: “Arawak Walton Housing Association is a small housing association with homes in the Greater Manchester area.

“They are now the largest independent Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) housing association in the North West, with an asset base of around £57m and a turnover of around £5. million pounds.

“They have been trading for over 25 years. A loan of £5 million was approved by Cabinet on May 23, 2017.

‘Irwell Valley HA Ltd is a medium sized housing association based in Greater Manchester in the North West of England. It has more than 7,500 housing units, including social and affordable rental housing.

“They are a non-profit charity but have a wholly owned company also providing property services. A loan of £30m was approved by Cabinet on April 8, 2019.”

Cabinet approved the extension of the period of availability of the £5m loan from the Arawak Walton Housing Association until at most July 5, 2027, as well as delegation to the Director of Corporate Services and Director of Law and from the governance of the authorization to accept any modification of the loan agreements.

It also approved the extension of the period of availability of the £30 million loan from the Irwell Valley Housing Association to a maximum of five years from the date of the amendment, as well as the delegation to the Director of General Services and to the Director of Law and Governance for the authorization to agree to any modification of the loan agreements.