The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has announced an extra £60 million of funding for its Brownfield Land Release Fund.
The DLUHC said the additional funding, which is set to deliver an extra 5,800 new homes by March 2027, “will help to bring neglected urban areas back into use, support regeneration projects, and boost local economies”.
£35m of the £180 million fund has already been allocated to areas from Exeter to Sunderland and the remaining funding will be made available to councils over the next two years.
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.
“We want to turn neglected areas into thriving new communities, as part of our mission level up the country,” Minister for Housing Rt Hon Lucy Frazer commented:
“To do this we must prioritise brownfield land to deliver new homes for people, in the right places.
The £60 million fund we are opening today provides another fantastic opportunity for councils to drive regeneration in their towns and cities – and help more young families onto the housing ladder.”
Cabinet Office Minister Alex Burghart said:
“This funding is absolutely vital for stimulating growth and helping local areas reach their full potential.
Neglected land such as this is ready for investment and this funding will pave the way for more than 5,800 young people and families to take their first step onto the property ladder. This is great news for businesses and even better news for local people, who are seeing housing as well as jobs moving to their area for decades to come.”
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.”
The application window for this round will close on 31st March 2023 with successful projects expected to be announced over the summer.
This scheme builds on the success of the first Brownfield Land Release Fund, which saw £77 million help councils release over 160 brownfield sites for around 7,750 new homes across the country.
