English councils will be handed almost £58m to build 5,600 homes on brownfield sites for sale to young people and families, the government says.
The move will see new homes “built on underused and derelict land to regenerate local areas and help people onto the property ladder”, says the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
It adds £57.8m from the government’s £75m Brownfield Land Release Fund and the One Public Estate programme has been allocated to 53 councils, from Haringey in London to Harrogate in Yorkshire. It says £25m of this sum is available for self and custom build projects.
The department says the move may support up to 17,000 jobs across the housing and construction sector and the wider economy.
It adds the scheme will support “young people and families across the country into home ownership”.
Last year the country built 244,000 new homes – the highest number of new homes for over 30 years.
The government plans to build up to 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s.
Secretary of state for Levelling Up Michael Gove says: “We are levelling up and backing home ownership in every corner of the country, delivering new high-quality, affordable homes and creating thriving places where people want to live, work and visit.
“Making the most of previously developed land is a government priority and it will help protect our cherished countryside and green spaces.”
Local Government Association chairman James Jamieson adds: “One Public Estate and Brownfield Land Release funding play a crucial role in supporting the recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, and supporting councils to transform their assets, create better services, and release land for much-needed new homes and regeneration across the country.
“This latest news is more proof that this programme works. Councils recognise how valuable this support is, and are being ever more ambitious in their ideas to use this funding to kick-start transformation, regeneration, and new development in their communities.”
During the Budget last March, chancellor Rishi Sunak also announced a £400m Brownfield Fund for mayoral combined authorities to build 26,000 new homes on brownfield land.
