Sector - Housing

Homes England funds 4,000 new homes with local authorities

30 May 19

Homes England has created a £55million fund with 12 local authorities to deliver 4,000 new homes.

The deal was made with 12 local authorities to provide new homes and supporting infrastructure around the sites. The Local Authority Accelerated Construction (LAAC) programme prioritises the use of modern methods of construction, which will increase the pace of delivery across the developments by an average of 40%.

The funding will be used to kick start the development of 4,000 new homes across England, including 1,400 at a 400-acre site at Horton Heath, Eastleigh. Eastleigh Borough Council purchased the site in 2018 and the development will benefit from £20.8million of LAAC funding to accelerate the delivery of a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom homes, including a minimum of 30% affordable housing.

Minister of State for Housing, Kit Malthouse MP, said: “We haven’t built enough homes in this country for far too long – and our accelerated construction programme is here to change that, and fast.”

“This £55 million funding boost will help councils get 4,000 new homes built across the country using the latest modern methods that cut down on construction time.”

“We must keep building more, better, faster to meet our ambition to building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.”

Homes England made the deal with local authorities in the North, East, South and West:

City of York Council, Gateshead Council, Newcastle City Council, Pendle Borough Council
Eastleigh Borough Council, Medway Council, Dorset Council
Leicestershire County Council, High Peak Borough Council, City of Lincoln Council
Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, South Norfolk Council

The first developments are due to start later this year using modern methods of construction. The funding will go towards construction and preparation work such as infrastructure enabling works, planning and technical expertise, and site remediation.