Almost £300m government investment in Greater Manchester, the West of England and Oxfordshire is set to help deliver thousands of much-needed new homes for local communities, Housing Secretary Sajid Javid has announced.
Greater Manchester is set to receive £68m funding to support the Mayor’s ambitious target of delivering 227,200 homes by 2035 and boost economic growth across the Northern Powerhouse.
Government support for the West of England will help to nearly double the number of new homes being delivered historically, increasing from around 4,000 homes to 7,500 homes a year. This will deliver much-needed homes and support the local economy.
Ministers have also approved a housing deal with Oxfordshire worth £215m that will help deliver a further 100,000 new homes for local people. This follows a similar deal agreed with the West Midlands last week to support the Mayor’s ambitious plan to deliver 215,000 homes across the region.
This latest announcement comes as the Government has also announced that Housing Infrastructure Fund bids from a further 44 areas for projects to help unlock more homes across country, have been shortlisted to the next stage of the competitive process. A potential £4.1bn funding will be available for vital infrastructure like roads, bridges, new schools and medical centres, which are needed for new communities.
Housing Secretary Sajid Javid said: This Government is determined to build the homes this country needs. That’s why we’re working with ambitious areas across England and backing them with investment and support.
“This new housing investment in Greater Manchester, the West of England and Oxfordshire will help build much-needed homes, giving more people the opportunity to get on the property ladder.
“We’re also investing in local infrastructure like schools, roads and hospitals, so that we can help unlock even more new homes in the areas where they’re needed most and build a Britain fit for the future.”
With the Government committed to building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, the £5bn Housing Infrastructure Fund is part of a comprehensive programme to fix the broken housing market. Last month, ministers confirmed 133 council-led infrastructure projects that received a total of £866m funding to support local work that will make housing developments viable and get much-needed homes built quicker.
Successful bids will be announced from autumn 2018 onwards and local authorities would then begin building the necessary infrastructure to help speed up new homes being built.
