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Government targets 8,000 homes with £80m brownfield funding
The government has allocated a further £80m to help councils build homes on brownfield sites across England.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said the funding will aim to deliver 8,000 new homes over five years.
Councils will be able to bid for a share of the cash as part of the wider £180m Brownfield Release Fund 2, which goes towards regeneration schemes that bring derelict urban sites back into use.
It follows the allocation of a previous £35m share that was distributed to 41 councils from Exeter to Sunderland at the end of last year, and a £60m share that went out in January.
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Housing minister Lee Rowley, who retook office last month, announced the funding on a visit to a building site in Northampton where 28 affordable homes are being built.
He said “unloved and unused” sites on brownfield land are “crucial” to the government’s long-term housebuilding plans.
“This is a game changer for councils, and I strongly encourage them to apply and reap the benefits in their local areas,” Mr Rowley added.
The previous round of funding went towards housing projects in Bognor Regis, Rochdale and Somerset.
These included turning a listed town centre building into 35 new homes, building 14 purpose-built homeless accommodation units on a former car park, and delivering 11 low-carbon affordable homes on a former garage.
In the first Brownfield Land Release Fund, £77m helped councils to release more than 160 brownfield sites for around 7,750 new homes.
Manchester City Council revealed a £3m plan last month to support housing developments across the city that will bring long-term brownfield land back into use.
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