The building of 550 new homes in Birmingham is to be brought forward following the approval of £7m of investments through a government scheme.
The Unlocking Stalled Housing Sites Programme (USHSP), which approved these investments, anticipates the completion of all the homes before the end of 2018.
This will exceed the programme’s original target of 500 completions in the region before 2019.
Jake Berry, minister for local growth, said: “The government’s Growth Deal funding is continuing to spur transformative investment in the housing sector.
“These multi-million pound investments are delivering hundreds of new homes for the community while giving a major boost to house builders.”
The funding is part of the government’s £2.3bn Local Growth Fund, which was launched earlier this year to help councils unlock land for housing developments.
The fund has provided support for the USHSP, which was founded in 2016 by Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP).
The programme helps developers access grant and loan finance for stalled sites in the Birmingham area and supports mixed-tenure schemes of between 10 and 100 homes.
Paul Halford, the investment director for the USHSP, said: “Through our collaboration with the GBSLEP we’ve worked hard to connect ambitious developers with the finance needed to increase the rate of housing delivery and, more importantly, get people into new homes.”
“From tackling land remediation issues to supporting with wider viability of sites, the USHSP is driving projects forward and we’re pleased that we’re on track to beat our initial targets.”
Key sites benefiting from the programme include a 24-home development on the Windward Way Industrial Estate in Solihull, being delivered by the North Solihull Partnership, and a 40-home site set to be completed in January by Daisytame.