HATC acts as Development Agent for a small housing association that is negotiating to pre-purchase some dwellings from a private developer. The scheme has stalled for many months due to a relatively small shortfall in the funding that the developer has been able to raise. To speed up delivery of this much-needed housing – both market sale and affordable – HATC has developed an innovative approach by inviting the local authority to act as mezzanine funder. We hope that this proposal will allow the scheme to finally proceed. If approved, the model could be used elsewhere to help unlock developments that are currently frozen through lack of development funding.