The plan will back almost 100 regeneration projects by local councils across the country to bring areas such as derelict car parks and industrial sites into residential use.  

The move is the second phase of the £180m Brownfield Land Release Fund, which unlocks sites for new housing.  

The fund is part of the government’s plan to build one million homes over the course of the current parliament.    

Areas that will benefit from the next phase of this scheme, include turning a riverside industrial site in Sunderland that has been unused for over 20 years into 140 low-carbon build-to-rent homes at Farringdon Row. Sunderland Council receives £1.8m to kick-start the project.   

Newcastle gets £1.82m towards the delivery of 146 build-to-rent homes for communities in Benwell and Scotswood.    

Minister for Housing and Planning Rachel Maclean says: “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.”  

So far, the Brownfield Land Release Fund has supported around 89 local authorities, across 160 projects, providing almost £100m to build 8,600 homes.    

In May, Labour leader Keir Starmer said he would green light building homes in the country’s green belt as part of the party’s plans to boost housebuilding if voted into power, a move which the government has vetoed.