Thousands of new homes will be built on underused and derelict land
to regenerate local areas and help people onto the property ladder,
the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)
announced today (12 October 2021).
Almost £58 million from the £75 million Brownfield Land Release
Fund (BLRF) has
been allocated to 53 councils.
The funding will boost local areas by transforming unloved and
disused sites into vibrant communities for people to live and
work, with the demolition of unsightly derelict buildings and
disused car parks and garages. This will help to protect
countryside and green spaces while an extra 5,600 homes are built
on these sites, supporting young people and families across the
country into home ownership.
The funding could also support up to 17,000 jobs across the
housing and construction sector and the wider economy.
Secretary of State for Levelling Up, MP said:
We are levelling up and backing home ownership in every corner of
the country, delivering new high-quality, affordable homes and
creating thriving places where people want to live, work and
visit.
Making the most of previously developed land is a government
priority and it will help protect our cherished countryside and
green spaces.
Today’s allocations include £5 million for self and custom build
projects. A further £20 million from the BLRF has also been
designated to help accelerate the self and custom build sector,
with councils now able to bid for the remaining funding – giving
local people the opportunity to build and design their own homes.
Cabinet Office Minister, said:
This support being provided to local authorities is another clear
demonstration of this government’s commitment to levelling up the
country.
The latest projects to benefit from this support, through
Brownfield Land Release funding, will not only help unlock
under-used public sector sites for homes but also help deliver
jobs and save taxpayers’ money.
Cllr James Jamieson, Local Government Association Chairman, said:
One Public Estate and Brownfield Land Release funding play a
crucial role in supporting the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis,
and supporting councils to transform their assets, create better
services, and release land for much-needed new homes and
regeneration across the country.
This latest news is more proof that this programme works.
Councils recognise how valuable this support is, and are being
ever more ambitious in their ideas to use this funding to
kick-start transformation, regeneration, and new development in
their communities.
Boosting housing supply is central to the levelling up agenda.
Last year 244,000 homes were delivered – the highest number of
new homes for over 30 years. The government aims to build up to
300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s to put home ownership
within reach for more people across the country, making it a more
mainstream, realistic and affordable option for people across the
country.
The government last year announced the £400 million Brownfield
Fund for 7 mayoral combined authorities which will also deliver
much-needed new homes on brownfield land – unlocking 26,000
high-quality homes.
The £150 million backed Help to Build scheme was announced in
April. It will allow access to low deposit mortgages and improve
affordability of home ownership for people who want to build
their own homes in a similar way to the Help to Buy scheme.
In addition, the review by , which recommended a major
scaling up of the self and custom build sector, has been warmly
welcomed by the government with a response to the findings to be
published in due course.
Further information
£57.8 million from the £75 million Brownfield Land Release Fund
(BLRF) is being
allocated, of which £25 million was made available to self and
custom build projects.
£5 million from the self and custom build pot has been allocated
and now local councils are being encouraged to bid for the
remaining share of £20 million to deliver further self and custom
build projects on Brownfield Land.
Find out more about the latest round of One Public
Estate and self and custom build funding.
The BLRF is delivered by
the One Public Estate programme which is a collaboration between
DLUHC, the Local Government Association and the Cabinet Office.
A further £6 million is available to local councils in England
through the One Public Estate programme, which aims to help local
public services collaborate, redesign how services are located,
and release land for housing.
