New fund for homes in garden towns

A new £3.7M fund will provide homes in garden towns across the country in chosen communities.

Five garden towns across England have successfully bid for a share of a £3.7M fund to fast track work on 64,000 new homes. The communities will access the survey and planning work funds needed to begin the projects.

The winning communities are:

• Grazely Garden Settlement, receiving around 15,000 homes
• Hemel Garden Communities, receiving around 11,000 homes
• Easton Park Garden Community and North Uttlesford Garden Community, receiving around 18,000 homes
• Tewkesbury Ashchurch Garden Community, receiving around 10,195 homes
• Meecebrook in the north of the Stafford borough, receiving around 10,000 homes.

Minister of State for Housing Kit Malthouse MP said: “These new towns will not only provide homes for families, but will be vibrant communities where everyone, including neighbouring communities can benefit from new infrastructure – leaving a legacy for future generations to be proud of.”

“I congratulate these councils who have put forward ambitious proposals, which will build many thousands of high-quality homes, and am pleased to support them as they work to make these plans a reality.”

The funds will go to local councils to provide the infrastructure and planning needed to support new homes and current residents in the communities. The government plans to improve the local economy of these areas, tackling the housing crisis and improving opportunities in rural areas.

Currently, the government is supporting 23 other garden town projects in areas including Carlisle, Merseyside, and Lancaster. An extra £9M has been given to existing garden town developments by the government.

Around 100 proposals were submitted for the funding with the five winning communities due to receive an initial £750,000 funding to begin work. The government is aiming to reach a target of 300,000 new homes by 2020, with an emphasis on green energy and sustainable building methods such as modular construction and recycled materials.

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