The Housing Zones will see councils working in partnership with private developers to deliver thousands of new homes on brownfield land.
- next stage in flagship Housing Zones programme to build thousands more homes
- up to 28 Housing Zones will deliver up to 45,000 homes for families and first-time buyers.
- first 19 Housing Zones share more than £6 million to deliver up to 34,000 homes
- part of the government’s ambition to deliver a million homes by 2020 and open the door to aspiring homeowners
Housing Zones around the country are today (5 January 2016) receiving funding that will kick-start work to build tens of thousands of new homes.
Nearly £6.3 million is being distributed to help revive brownfield sites across the country and deliver thousands of homes for hard-working families and first-time buyers.
The funding, which comes on top of a £1.2 billion Starter Home Fund designed to prepare brownfield sites for at least 30,000 new homes, will be used to speed up work, enabling homes to be delivered quickly.
Councils will receive the lions’ share of the money to help with work in 19 out of the 20 flagship Housing Zones, which are a new approach to getting new homes built easily and quickly.
The 20 Housing Zones, spread across the country, will see councils working in partnership with private developers to deliver thousands of new homes on brownfield land.
On top of this, the government is also committing to work with an additional 8 short listed potential Zones.
Together these have the potential to deliver 45,000 new homes.
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said:
Housing Zones offer enormous potential to use brownfield land for new homes which is why this government is determined to get them built out as soon as possible.This funding will play an important part in getting work underway which will lead to new homes and more security for aspiring homeowners.
Britain is building again with the number of new homes up 25% in the past year and these zones will play an important part in giving an extra million people the chance to achieve their dream of home ownership. [20 Housing Zones were designated at Budget in March 2015.]
The areas receiving funding are:
| Local Authority | Housing Zone | Resource Grant |
|---|---|---|
| Guildford Borough Council | Slyfield Area Regeneration | £600,000 |
| Hertsmere Borough Council | Elstree Way Corridor | £277,000 |
| Thurrock Council | Thurrock | £700,000 |
| Gedling Borough Council | Gedling Colliery | £150,000 |
| West Lindsey District Council | Greater Gainsborough | £165,000 |
| Stoke-on-Trent City Council | Stoke City Centre | £240,000 |
| Derby City Council | Derby City | £213,616 |
| Gateshead Council | Exemplar Neighbourhood | £220,000 |
| City of York Council | York Central | £365,000 |
| Wakefield Council | Aire River | £261,000 |
| Preston City Council | Preston | £165,000 |
| North Somerset Council | Weston-Super-Mare | £700,000 |
| East Hampshire District Council | Whitehill & Bordon | £124,116 |
| Gloucester City Council | Gloucester City | £300,000 |
| Bath & North East Somerset Council | Foxhill | £313,000 |
| Sedgemoor District Council | Hinkley | £100,000 |
| Bristol City Council | South Bristol | £300,000 |
| Tewkesbury Borough Council | Ashchurch | £330,000 |
| Poole Borough Council | Poole Powerstation | £30,000 |
| Total | £5,553,732 |
The remaining £740,000 from the fund will be used to provide specialist technical support to the Zones.
Today’s announcement comes as the government presses ahead with its landmark Housing and Planning Bill to give aspiring homeowners the security of home ownership and build more homes across the country.
Measures include:
- new affordable Starter Homes – a new legal duty will be placed on councils to guarantee the delivery of Starter Homes on all reasonably sized new development sites, and to promote the delivery of Starter Homes in their area
- permission in principle for sites identified in plans and brownfield registers – to give certainty around the sites that are suitable for housing, while protecting the green belt
- planning reforms to support small builders – requiring councils to ensure they have shovel ready plots to match the local demand for custom build
Further information
Together with 8 short listed potential Zones, the Housing Zones have the potential to deliver 45,000 homes.
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