The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority has announced that the Brownfield Housing Fund, which currently stands at c£35m, will open for applications from private sector developers, housing associations and other housing developers, between Monday 5th September and Friday 28th October 2022.
In June 2020, the Government launched ‘A New Deal for Britain’ which is said to be the first step in the strategy to rebuild Britain following Covid-19 and fuel economic recovery across the UK. As part of this strategy, £53m of capital in total has been allocated to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) for supporting the development of over 3,300 new homes on brownfield land and through conversions, to be started on site within South Yorkshire by March 2025.
This funding builds upon the previous South Yorkshire Housing Fund, enabling SYMCA to support the delivery of a greater number of new homes to meet local needs which would otherwise not be brought forward by the Market.
SYMCA will prioritise schemes based on how well they deliver against the principles of Stronger, Greener, Fairer, set out in its Strategic Economic Plan. The risks and overall deliverability of schemes will also be evaluated.
All schemes will be assessed in accordance with the MCA Assurance Framework to ensure due diligence and value for money. Schemes that adopt innovations and/or raise the quality and standards of homes across South Yorkshire are particularly welcome. This Fund will provide opportunities to support new homes on brownfield sites up to the end of March 2025; however, SYMCA is also interested in discussing longer term housing development opportunities even if schemes do not meet the BHF criteria.
Gemma Smith, Co-Chair SYMCA Housing and Infrastructure Board and Managing Director Strata Homes said: “In these challenging economic times, this open call for applications provides an opportunity to support and accelerate the development of much needed new homes across South Yorkshire that may otherwise not be built due to viability issues. We welcome applications from across South Yorkshire’s housing sector.”
Funding is available to a wide range of public and private sector partners across the housing sector (subject to the production of a compliant Business Case, as well as Value for Money and Subsidy Control considerations).
Apply by completing an Expression of Interest (EOI) Form on our website. The completed form needs to be returned no later than 28th October 2022 to the following email address: growthhub@southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk.
Find more information and to contact SYMCA directly with scheme-specific enquiries email growthhub@southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk.
Next steps
Read the Prospectus to gain an in-depth insight into the scheme.
Download and complete the Expression of Interest (EOI) Form. Remember to return the form by no later than 28th October 2022.
Attend one of SYMCA events for the chance to ask our team questions and get clarifications on the application process, marking and funding allocation process. You can register for an event here.
