Four private developers are among 17 successful bidders for Housing Corporation grants to build affordable housing. First Base, Bovis, Bellway and Persimmon have been selected for the New Partnerships in Affordable Housing programme and are the first non-registered social landlords ever to receive grant directly from the Housing Corporation. The other 13 successful bidders are housing associations. The bids total around £140 million. Housing Corporation chief executive John Rouse said: “We would have liked to have allocated the full £200m on offer but, first time out, we had too many bids that didn't meet the standards that we're now seeking to apply in our investment programmes. We will soon see if some of those lessons have been learnt in respect of the main 2006-2008 National Affordable Housing Programme.” He added: “What the New Partnerships in Affordable Housing programme has shown is that there is a real market for private sector involvement in the delivery of new affordable homes, and considerable interest in participating.” After criticism that the bidding process was too complicated the Housing Corporation is commissioning an external evaluation to look at ways of improving it.