Government allocates £1.3bn for new homes and infrastructure

Hundreds of development projects due to deliver more than 70,000 homes have been selected to receive a share of £1.3bn in government funding as part of the government’s response to the post-covid economic crisis.

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick (pictured, right) said 300 projects had been chosen to share a £900m investment under the Getting Building Fund announced by prime minister Boris Johnson in June.

The housing and infrastructure schemes will see the construction of 45,000 homes and create up to 85,000 jobs, as part of what the government described as a comprehensive plan to upgrade local infrastructure and boost skills to fuel a green economic recovery.

In addition, the government said it had allocated £360m of its £400m brownfield fund to combined authority areas, which it said will deliver 26,000 homes “while protecting greenfield sites”.

The government is inviting bids from mayoral combined authority areas for the final £40m of funding under the brownfield fund.

The government also released details of the accreditation needed by domestic builders looking to undertake upgrades to people’s homes under the £2bn Green Homes Grant scheme, also announced in June. Builders will have to be TrustMark accredited to carry out a range of green home improvements including the insulation of walls, floors and roofs, and the installation of low-carbon heating, like heat pumps or solar thermal.

Schemes to benefit from the Getting Building Fund include the Mayfield commercial development scheme in Manchester (pictured, left), which will receive £23m, the National Brownfield Land Institute, which will get £15m, and £12m for a new high speed rail station in Thanet, Kent.

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said the funding meant the government was laying the foundations for a green economic recovery. He said: “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.”

The funding comes in advance of details of far-reaching planning reforms designed to speed up the delivery of new homes and infrastructure, expected later this week.