Regenerating brownfield land for housing
Some £60M in funding is being made available as part of the Brownfield Land Release Fund 2, which will support the regeneration of brownfield land across the UK.
The funding will see the delivery of 5,800 new homes by March 2027, whilst creating around 18,000 new jobs in the housing and construction sector.
This is part of the Government’s plan to prioritise brownfield land for new housing, transforming underused sites into places where people want to live and work, while protecting our cherished green spaces.
The full brownfield fund will deliver 17,600 new homes and 56,000 skilled new jobs over the next four years, helping to transform communities and level up the country.
Minister for Housing Rt Hon Lucy Frazer said: “We want to turn neglected areas into thriving new communities, as part of our mission level up the country.
“To do this we must prioritise brownfield land to deliver new homes for people, in the right places.
“The £60M fund provides another fantastic opportunity for councils to drive regeneration in their towns and cities – and help more young families onto the housing ladder.”
Cllr James Jamieson, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “The LGA is delighted to continue to partner on the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF2) through our One Public Estate Programme. Councils are at the forefront of housing delivery, with BLRF2 supporting them to meet the needs of their communities by releasing their surplus land for new, high quality, energy efficient homes.”
£35M was released from the fund in November 2022 to 41 councils, supporting 59 regeneration projects from Exeter to Sunderland. Over 2,200 homes – including over 800 affordable homes – will be built for local communities.
In Chorley, £650,000 from the fund has helped remediate a site within the town centre, which housed the former theatre and more recently the bingo hall. This bring forward delivery of 29 high-quality energy efficient new homes, reinvigorating the town centre through the formation of a new civic square in front of the historic town hall.
Some £220,000 went to Blackburn to unlock 30 new affordable homes and bungalows for independent living, addressing the needs of an older population and the demand for more homes for affordable rent.
While in Darlington, some £223,000 will enable the delivery of 27 homes close to the new government hub at Darlington Economic campus. The homes will introduce new green corridors to improve access to and from the town centre.
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