A £2.3 billion fund which could unlock 100,000 new homes in areas
of high demand has been launched today (4 July 2017) by the
Communities Secretary, .
Speaking in Birmingham at the LGA Conference today,
the Communities Secretary will say that the investment will help
to fund vital physical infrastructure projects like the building
of roads, bridges, energy networks and other utilities, the
absence of which continues to hold housebuilding back.
The new investment through the Housing Infrastructure
Fund (HIF) aims to solve this
problem and today opens for bids for local authorities across
England to come forward with proposals to help get homes built
faster.
Funding will also be available to help build new schools,
healthcare centres and digital infrastructure to accommodate
growing communities and alleviate pressure on public services.
Once proposals have been approved, it is expected that local
authorities would begin building the necessary infrastructure
immediately and for the homes to follow quickly afterwards.
HIF is part
of the government’s wider £23 billion National Productivity
Investment Fund, which targets spending on areas critical to
boosting productivity, including on housing, transport and
digital communications.
Communities Secretary, , said:
To build the homes this country needs, we need to deliver the
right infrastructure in the right place at the right time.
By investing in local infrastructure, we can help unlock
building thousands of new homes in the areas where they are
needed most.
The Housing Infrastructure Fund will also make sure we have
better public services in place for local communities.
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said:
Where we live plays a huge part in our lives; from the distance
of our commute to the local facilities available. By ensuring
we have enough housing in areas where it is needed the most, we
can boost productivity and support new communities to grow and
thrive.
This money is part of our £23 billion National Productivity and
Investment Fund, which will ensure Britain is match fit for the
future.
LGA Chairman,
said:
We’re pleased that the government has followed through on its
commitment to invest in infrastructure linked to housing and
that this to be led by councils, as we outlined on our
preliminary Housing Commission findings last year.
Going forward, what’s crucial is that the arrangements to
access this fund are flexible, especially around different
housing tenures, and that all councils can access funds to
deliver housing for their communities.
Councils know their communities, and the places in them, best
and so it’s right that approaches to invest in local
infrastructure are led by local authorities.
Home Builders Federation Planning Director Andrew Whitaker said:
Funding necessary infrastructure will give local authorities
the opportunity to remove barriers to developments being
delivered.
Direct support for critical infrastructure will not only unlock
more housing, it should also help to accelerate planned
developments.
Local authorities that plan for growth should be supported and
that will, in turn, allow house builders to get on and deliver
the homes our communities so desperately need.
HIF is an
important demonstration of the government’s commitment to
housing, following on from the housing white paper,
which sets out a strategy to fix the nation’s dysfunctional
housing market.
The fund will support councils to step up their plans for growth,
release more land for housing and get attractive, well designed
homes that people want to live in built at pace and scale.
£2.3 billion of capital grant funding will be allocated to local
authorities on a competitive basis. The funding will be available
from 2017-18 to 2020-21.
DCLG will work closely with other departments in the assessment
of local authority bids.
HIF forms
part of the new £23 billion National Productivity Investment
Fund, as announced at the Autumn Statement 2016.
