A new £25m Planning Delivery Fund to help local authorities delivery housing and infrastructure has opened for bids
Housing and planning minister Alok Sharma said up to £11m will be available initially to help councils gain the skills or capacity needed to deliver housing growth at scale.
The fund aims to encourage more innovation in the design quality of new housing developments, as well as providing design advice and support to local authorities.
It is part of the government’s plans to increase housing supply to 300,000 new homes a year on average by the mid-2020s.
Other measures announced alongside the Planning Delivery Fund include a further £3m to support the delivery of 14 garden villages and the publication of a consultation on plans to allow the creation of locally led New Town Development Corporations.
The corporations, which were proposed in the February Housing White Paper, would be overseen by the council or councils covering an area proposed for a new garden community, rather than by Whitehall.
The government is currently supporting 24 locally led garden cities, towns and villages across England that have the potential to deliver around 220,000 homes. Backed with £16m in funding, the extra £3m has been allocated to 14 garden cities already in the programme to fund staff, studies and assessments essential to their delivery.
“Locally led developments have enormous potential to deliver the scale and quality of housing growth that we need. By supporting our local authorities, we will be able to unlock more homes where people want to live,” Sharma said.
“These measures, including the £25m of government support, will help develop new communities that will not only deliver high-quality, well designed homes but will also bring new jobs and facilities, and a boost to local economies.”
