ao link
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In

You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles

Government fund aims to revive stalled developments

Local authorities will be able to apply for a maximum £10m in government funding to revive housing projects that have stalled, in an attempt to get developments up and running quickly.

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Sharelines

Government accepting bids for £2.8bn housing infrastructure fund

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is now accepting bids under the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF), a £2.3bn fund to help councils unlock land for housing developments.

Applications for “marginal viability funding”, which is capped at £10m, can be used to get schemes that may have already secured planning permission but have run into unforeseen costs, such as abnormal site remediation.

The DCLG said numerous sites across the country were being held back.


READ MORE

Councils seek to plug budget holes as rent cut bitesCouncils seek to plug budget holes as rent cut bites
Government ownership schemes not helping low-income familiesGovernment ownership schemes not helping low-income families
Mind your headroomMind your headroom
Scottish Government announces funding for affordable housingScottish Government announces funding for affordable housing

Guidance on the fund stated: “We expect the infrastructure to be built soon after schemes have been awarded funding, and for the homes to follow at pace.”

The DCLG said it would also back a small number of larger bids from unitary or upper tier authorities of up to £250m that could have “strategic and high impact”.

The HIF was announced in last year’s Autumn Statement by chancellor Philip Hammond in an attempt to get 100,000 new homes built in areas of high demand.

The HIF will run to 2020/21, and applications need to be submitted by 28 September.

The fund was officially launched at the Local Government Association (LGA) conference in Birmingham.

Lord Gary Porter, chair of the LGA, said: “Going forward, what’s crucial is that the arrangements to access this fund are flexible, especially around different housing tenures, and that all councils can access funds to deliver housing for their communities.

“Councils know their communities and the places in them best, and so it’s right that approaches to invest in local infrastructure are led by local authorities.”

The DCLG said it may not decide to allocate the entire £2.3bn in the first wave of funding, depending on the bids received.

It described the applications process as being “highly competitive”.

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment.