The fund was revealed by housing and regeneration minister Rebecca Evans at the SME Builder Breakfast Roadshow held at Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli.

The £40m loan fund – which has a four-year repayment term – is projected to be recycled four times over 17 years, highlighting the Welsh government’s long-term dedication to support small- and medium-sized builders to deliver homes and skilled jobs across Wales.

“The stalled sites fund provides £40m of funding to address this gap in the market and through recycling of this investment will make up to £160m available to SMEs over 17 years to help them build more homes in Wales,” said Rebecca.

“We know that supporting small- and medium-sized builders has a knock-on effect on the local economy, as they in turn use local suppliers to source materials and skills.

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“That’s why we are targeting smaller builders at this roadshow in Llanelli.

“Working with the Federation of Master Builders and local builder’s merchants LBS, we are setting out exactly what help is available to SMEs to grow and develop.”

Rebecca claimed that the Welsh government was committed to delivering 20,000 affordable homes in Wales during this term, with SME builders key to helping it achieve that.

“By supporting them to develop more sites, we won’t just be supporting them to increase the supply of housing, but to grow their businesses, support more skilled jobs and contribute to the local economy.

“We know that many SMEs moved away from housebuilding following the recession 10 years ago and have not returned to development.

“I believe this fund can help them to do this, ensuring a diverse housing sector and more homes being built.”