The housing minister Gavin Barwell has announced an £18 million fund to accelerate housebuilding on large sites.
Councils can now bid for a share of the government’s “capacity fund” which the government said would address planning issues which cause delays for housebuilders.
The fund will primarily be aimed at sites of 1,500 units or more, with the money set to speed up delivery of up to 800,000 homes and infrastructure across large sites in England.
The fund is in addition to other measures. The government has announced six more Housing Zones which it said would help deliver almost 10,000 new homes on brownfield land.
All are eligible for capacity funding. The zones are: Sheffield Housing Zone, South Yorkshire; North East Lincolnshire Urban Housing Zone, with sites in Grimsby and Cleethorpes; Hoyland-Wombwell Strategic Housing Zone, Barnsley, South Yorkshire; Sandwell Housing Zone, Sandwell, West Midlands; Pennine-Lancashire Housing Zone, with sites in Blackburn and Burnley; Wirral Waters Housing Zone, Merseyside.
The government also revealed that it would support and fund a new Garden Town at Otterpool Park in Shepway, Kent, set to be built on previously developed land and public sector land and deliver up to 12,000 new homes.
Developers will also be able to apply for funding through the recently announced £3 billion Home Building Fund.
Gavin Barwell said: “We want to turbo-charge housebuilding on large sites to get the homes built in the places people want to live, so that this country works for everyone, not just the privileged few.
“These sites offer enormous potential to transform brownfield land into new homes and our £18 million funding will help get them built much sooner.
“Furthermore, we are getting behind plans for a new Garden Town which offers a unique opportunity to boost the local economy, jobs and provide new homes in Shepway, Kent.”