Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP has launched investment to tackle issues on potential housing sites and get homes built in areas where they are needed most.
The Government says that issues like land contamination, infrastructure requirements, and complex land ownership can present real barriers to building homes. To help it will provide two streams of investment – the Land Assembly Fund and the Small Sites Fund – for Homes England to deploy alongside their expertise.
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.
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.”
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.”
