Ministers have announced the 300 schemes that will receive a share of the £900m Getting Building Fund and confirmed £360m for mayoral combined authorities to fund homes on brownfield land.
The Government described the cash as part of its comprehensive plan to deliver upgrades to local infrastructure and boost skills to help fuel a green economic recovery.
Officials said the £900m for shovel-ready housing and infrastructure projects is expected to deliver up to 45,000 homes, create up to 85,000 jobs and reduce around 65 million kg of CO2 emissions across England.
The cash, which includes £12m to support a new high-speed railway station in Kent, was allocated following negotiations between bidders and the Government to narrow down longer wish lists submitted during the first statge of the process.
Computer generated image of the new Thanet Parkway station
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: ‘As we get Britain building we are also laying the foundations for a green economic recovery by investing in vital infrastructure for local communities, creating jobs and building environmentally-friendly homes with a huge £1.3bn investment.
‘This Government is determined to level up all parts of the country and this funding will not only give a much needed boost to our economic recovery, it will help build the good quality, affordable homes the country needs.’
Other projects being funded include:
- £23m for phase 1 of the development of commercial space at Mayfield Park in Greater Manchester, expected to deliver 3,200 jobs and attract over one million visitors a year
- £15m to accelerate the National Brownfield Land Institute, a project aiming to create a leader in sustainable construction which will support the housing deal and drive levelling up across the region
The Thanet Parkway Railway Station, near Cliffsend in East Kent, will cost a total of £34.5m and consist of two 12-car platforms to accommodate high speed services.
It is part of £85m secured by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, with eight projects in East Sussex receiving £11m, 13 projects in Essex getting £29m, eight projects in Kent and Medway (including the Thanet station) awarded £37m, and five projects in South Essex receiving just under £8m.
Leeds City Council has secured more than £18m from the fund, as part of a £52m bid by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. It said the cash would deliver three regeneration projects that will boost economic growth and recovery from the pandemic, help tackle climate change, and improve residents’ wellbeing.
Brownfield Fund
The Government has also confirmed £360m for mayoral combined authority areas to deliver a further 26,000 new homes through its £400m Brownfield Fund. It said it is inviting ‘ambitious bids’ from the combined authorities for the remaining £40m.
A further £8m has also been announced to help speed up the delivery of these new homes on brownfield sites
Details of the new £2bn Green Homes Grant scheme, which will see the government fund up to two-thirds of the cost of home improvements of over 600,000 homes, have also been announced.
Officials said the announcements come ahead of a radical overhaul of the planning system due to be announced shortly.
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