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Communities across England are to get an £8m cash boost to fund neighbourhood planning initiatives, the housing minister has announced.
A total of £6m will be allocated to help new garden towns and villages with plans to deliver up to 200,000 new homes, while an additional £1.9 million will be given to councils in England to support new neighbourhood plans.
The government said that the funding allocation builds on its commitment to “give communities a voice on the development in their areas, including prioritising local brownfield land while protecting the green belt”.
Neighbourhood planning has been popular since it was introduced it in 2011, with nearly a million votes cast for neighbourhood plans and over 2,600 different communities coming forward with proposals, the government said.
Plans for garden towns and villages are also locally led and are intended to produce well-designed homes. There are currently 21 garden towns and villages in the pipeline across England.
Housing minister Esther McVey said: “Communities have the local insight to decide what new homes should look like and the kind of infrastructure they need in their area. This is what neighbourhood planning is all about, so I’m pleased this funding will ensure that the right homes are built in the right places.”
The cash is intended to be used to prepare environmental assessments and employ the latest design techniques.
One of the latest new garden communities to receive backing from the government will be built at Wynyard, which has already received £150,000 and will make it the largest new settlement in the North East, delivering up to 6,800 new homes.
Ben Houchen, mayor of Tees Valley, said: “The proposed garden community will take more pressure off nearby developments when it comes to excessive building which is changing the character of our villages and towns for the worse and proving to be a real headache for residents.”
Other areas to receive funding include Bicester, West Oxfordshire, Taunton, Basingstoke, and Culm.