Government investment to unlock more homes across England
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A further 44 areas shortlisted for funding for major infrastructure
projects worth £4.1bn and with the potential to deliver over
400,000 homes £218m funding in total for housing projects in the
West of England and Oxfordshire Over £218 million government
investment in the West of England and Oxfordshire is set to help
deliver thousands of much-needed new homes for local communities,
Housing Secretary Sajid Javid announced today (21 March
2018)....Request free trial
Over £218 million government investment in the West of England and Oxfordshire is set to help deliver thousands of much-needed new homes for local communities, Housing Secretary Sajid Javid announced today (21 March 2018).
Government support for the West of England will help to nearly double the number of new homes being delivered historically, increasing from around 4,000 homes to 7,500 homes a year. This will deliver much-needed homes and support the local economy.
Ministers are also set to approve a housing deal with Oxfordshire worth £215 million that will help deliver a further 100,000 new homes for local people. This follows a similar deal agreed with the West Midlands last week to support the Mayor’s ambitious plan to deliver 215,000 homes across the region.
This latest announcement comes as the Government has also announced that Housing Infrastructure Fund bids, from a further 44 areas for projects to help unlock more homes across country, have been shortlisted to the next stage.
Subject to further assessment, a potential £4.1 billion funding will be available for vital infrastructure like roads, bridges, new schools and medical centres, which are needed for new communities.
Housing Secretary Sajid Javid said:
“This Government is determined to build the homes this country needs. That’s why we’re working with ambitious areas across England and backing them with investment and support.
“This new housing investment in the West of England and Oxfordshire will help build much-needed homes, giving more people the opportunity to get on the property ladder.
“We’re also investing in local infrastructure like schools, roads and hospitals, so that we can help unlock even more new homes in the areas where they’re needed most and build a Britain fit for the future.”
West of England Housing Package
The West of England – covering Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset – is a high housing demand area. Across the region, the average house prices are more than eight times average incomes, with Bath more than ten times the average income.
The government’s interim package supports the Mayor’s with ambitious plans to deliver more homes and tackle affordability challenges. It includes:
Oxfordshire Housing Deal The first completed Government Housing deal has been confirmed with Oxfordshire’s six local authorities - Cherwell, Oxford City, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, West Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire County Council - and the Local Enterprise Partnership, OxLEP, to develop the deal. The deal, which is worth £215 million, will:
Oxfordshire is also home to three garden towns and villages – at Bicester, Didcot and Oxfordshire Cotswold - where Government has invested almost £4 million to deliver an additional 30,000 homes. Housing Infrastructure Fund
With the Government committed to building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, the £5 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund is part of a comprehensive programme to fix the broken housing market.
Last month, ministers confirmed 133 council-led infrastructure projects that received a total of £866 million funding to support local work that will make housing developments viable and get much-needed homes built quicker.
The latest bids from 44 areas across England are for high-impact infrastructure like key roads, rail links and schools with the potential to deliver over 400,000 homes.
They will now move to the co-development stage, where government officials will work with these areas to further develop their bid and assess the projects. However, not all projects will receive funding after this stage or funding amounts could change to the amount originally bid for.
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, this funding will provide high-quality infrastructure to support economic growth.
Successful bids will be announced from autumn 2018 onwards and local authorities would then begin building the necessary infrastructure to help speed up new homes being built.
ENDS
Notes for editors
Further details on the housing packages can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/housing-deals
The Government is in discussions with Greater Manchester on a housing package and will confirm details shortly.
The 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 £5 billion fund is divided into two streams:
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 onwards. More information on the areas being taken forward to co-development is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-infrastructure-fund |