Government allocates £60m to deliver 6000 homes on brownfield land
Almost 100 regeneration projects are set to receive £60m from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to create more homes.
The money that is being provided is part of the second phase of the £180m brownfield land release fund, with funds going directly to councils so they can release the land and get building ASAP.
Abandoned town centre buildings, industrial sites and derelict car parks are all set to benefit from the new funding, with the government supporting communities to bring land back into use.
Rachel Maclean, minister for housing and planning said: ‘We know we need to build more homes, but this cannot come at the expense of concreting over our precious countryside.
‘That is why we are doing all we can to make sure we’re making use of wasteland and unused brownfield land, so we can turn these eyesores into beautiful and thriving communities.
‘This is all part of our long-term plan for housing – making sure we deliver the homes we need across the country.’
Projects that are set to benefit from the scheme include:
- Newcastle: £1.82m to boost wider regeneration by releasing a complex site to deliver 146 build-to-rent homes for communities in Benwell and Scotswood
- Hull: delivering 99 new homes for affordable rent on the site of a derelict school, backed by £980,000 government funding as part of the city centre regeneration
- Sunderland: turning a former riverside industrial site that has been unused for over 20 years into 140 low-carbon build-to-rent homes at Farringdon Row, with £1.8m for Sunderland Council to kick-start the project
Cllr Shaun Davies, Chair of the Local Government Association, said: ‘We are delighted to continue our work with DLUHC, supporting councils to access the Brownfield Land Release Fund.
‘Councils have continued to embrace opportunities to bring brownfield sites in their ownership forward for housing, and this fund plays a key role in helping councils to provide the types of homes their communities really need.’
The next round of funding from the brownfield release scheme is set to be announced later on this year.
Image: Ifeoluwa A.