£866 million investment to help unlock potential 200,000 new homes

Up to 200,000 new homes are set to get off the ground as government confirms £866 million investment in local housing projects.

Up to 200,000 new homes are set to get off the ground as government confirms £866 million investment in local housing projects today (1 February 2018).

Housing Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that 133 council-led projects across the country will receive funding to support local work that will make housing developments viable and get much-needed homes built quicker.

With the government committed to building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, this first wave of funding from the £5 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund is part of a comprehensive programme to fix the broken housing market.

This latest investment and will fund key local infrastructure projects including new roads, cycle paths, flood defences and land remediation work, all essential ahead of building the homes.

Without this financial support these projects would struggle to go ahead or take years for work to begin, delaying the homes these communities need. Together with the government’s Industrial Strategy, it will provide high-quality infrastructure to support economic growth.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said:

“Today marks the first step of the multi-billion pound investment we announced at the Budget to help build the homes our country needs.

“This fund finances vital infrastructure such as roads, schools and bridges, which will kick-start housing development in some of Britain’s highest-demand areas.

“This support will help us meet our ambitious plan of building 300,000 new homes each year and ensure we have enough housing in areas which need it most.”

Housing Secretary Sajid Javid said:

“Our priority is building the homes this country desperately needs.

“This first wave of investment totalling £866 million will help get up to 200,000 homes off the ground, making a huge difference to communities across the country.

“This is just one of the many ways this government is taking action to get Britain building homes again.”

Projects from County Durham to Cornwall will receive funding including:

£10 million for highway infrastructure to unlock further development at the Ashton Green housing site in Leicester, helping to unlock 3,300 homes
£10 million for construction of a bypass in Botley, Hampshire, a critical strategic road infrastructure project that will help unlock the delivery of 1,000 new homes
£3.6 million for drainage works, new roads and footpaths at the Manor Cluster, south-east Sheffield to help unlock more than 400 homes by 2025
£6.5 million to help build a new primary school as part of the Ilfracombe Southern Extension in North Devon. This will help unlock 750 new homes.

See a map of the project locations.

The £5 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund is a government capital grant programme to help unlock new homes in areas with the greatest housing demand. Funding is awarded to local authorities on a highly competitive basis.

The fund is divided into 2 streams:

A Marginal Viability Fund – available to all single and lower tier local authorities in England – to provide a piece of infrastructure funding to get additional sites allocated or existing sites unblocked quickly. Bids can be up to £10 million.
A Forward Fund – available to the uppermost tier of local authorities in England – for a small number of strategic and high-impact infrastructure projects. Bids can be up to £250 million.

The government will be progressing Forward Funding projects to go through to co-development in the coming weeks, with final funding announced from Autumn 2018. Today’s announcement forms part of the government’s Industrial Strategy which sets out a long term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK.

The Strategy sets out how we are building a Britain fit for the future – how we will help businesses create better, higher-paying jobs in every part of the UK with investment in skills, industries and infrastructure.