Investment to tackle
issues on potential housing sites and get homes built in areas where they are
needed most has been launched by Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire
MP.
Issues like land
contamination, infrastructure requirements, and complex land ownership can
present real barriers to building homes where they are needed most.
The government is
intervening by providing 2 streams of investment – the Land Assembly Fund and
the Small Sites Fund – for Homes England to deploy alongside their expertise.
This will help release land to deliver 300,000 new homes a year by the
mid-2020s.
The £1.3 billion
Land Assembly Fund, will be used to acquire land needing work and get it ready
for the market, making it less risky for developers to invest in and start
building. Outside of London this work will be carried out by Homes England.
For public land
owners or local authorities that are struggling to get building on land in
their area, the £630 million Small Sites Fund will provide grant funding to
speed up getting the right infrastructure in place to support home building on
stalled small sites to provide the homes their communities need.
Communities
Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said: "We need to act on a number
of fronts to build the homes this country needs.
"The
availability of this investment will help us intervene in the sort of sites
that aren’t yet ready to build on, or where developers have been put off.
"Developers can
now get straight on with building homes, rather than overcoming the barriers to
build. And in the same way we are also supporting councils that have land for
housing, but need additional help to enable development."
An example of Homes
England acquiring land is Burgess Hill in Sussex, a site that desperately
needed affordable housing, but which sat undeveloped for years. The national
housing agency has stepped in, bought the land and is also delivering the
infrastructure, so that the roads, schools and doctor’s surgeries are all in
place for over 3,000 new homes that will now be built there.
Homes England
Chairman, Sir Edward Lister said: "Homes England is stepping in where the
market isn’t working, unlocking land and releasing sites to those developers
that are committed to providing homes at pace.
"The £1.9
billion announced by the government today will mean we can invest in crucial
infrastructure and help local authorities to get more homes built on public
land."
The government will
work closely with the Greater London Authority to help ensure targeted funding
through the Land Assembly Fund and Small Sites Fund can deliver additional
homes in the capital.
