PRESS RELEASE : £60m to transform brownfield land and build 6,000 homes [October 2023]

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 9 October 2023.

100 regeneration projects will support thousands of new jobs and boost communities.

• 100 regeneration projects will support thousands of new jobs and boost communities.
• Second phase of £180m Brownfield Land Release Fund will unlock sites as part of the long-term plan for housing.
• Government on track to meet manifesto commitment of one million new homes this Parliament.

More than 6,000 new homes will be built on brownfield sites, through money given to councils to transform unused land into beautiful and thriving neighbourhoods.

Across the country, from Hull to Somerset, nearly 100 regeneration projects will receive £60 million from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The investment is part of the second phase of the £180 million Brownfield Land Release Fund, with cash going directly to councils so they can release the land and get building as soon as possible.

Derelict car parks, industrial sites and town centre buildings that have fallen into disrepair will all benefit from the new funding, with the Government supporting communities to bring land back into use.

The Government has been clear it has a brownfield-first approach to building the homes this country needs through its long-term plan for housing and today’s announcement will help deliver that.

Minister for Housing and Planning, Rachel Maclean MP said:

We know we need to build more homes, but this cannot come at the expense of concreting over our precious countryside.

That is why we are doing all we can to make sure we’re making use of wasteland and unused brownfield land, so we can turn these eyesores into beautiful and thriving communities.

This is all part of our long-term plan for housing – making sure we deliver the homes we need across the country.

Cabinet Office Minister, Alex Burghart MP:

This funding will unleash the much-needed redevelopment of brownfield sites: stimulating growth and helping local areas reach their full potential.

It’s fantastic news for business, and even better news for local people who will now see new investment, job opportunities, and family homes in their communities.”

Projects that will benefit from the scheme include:

• Newcastle: £1.82 million to boost wider regeneration by releasing a complex site to deliver 146 build-to-rent homes for communities in Benwell and Scotswood.
• Hull: delivering 99 new homes for affordable rent on the site of a derelict school, backed by £980,000 Government funding to purchase the land as part of the city centre regeneration.
• Sunderland: turning a former riverside industrial site that has been unused for over 20 years into 140 low-carbon build to rent homes at Farringdon Row, with £1.8 million for Sunderland Council to kick-start the project.

Councillor Shaun Davies, Chair of the Local Government Association, said:

We are delighted to continue our work with DLUHC, supporting councils to access the Brownfield Land Release Fund.

Councils have continued to embrace opportunities to bring brownfield sites in their ownership forward for housing, and this fund plays a key role in helping councils to provide the types of homes their communities really need.

This builds on the success of the first round of Brownfield Land Release Fund 2, where funding is enabling the release of land for almost 2,400 homes.

To date, the fund is supporting at least 89 local authorities, over 160 projects, and providing almost £100 million to support councils to release land for almost 8,600 homes. At the same time, the £1 billion Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land Fund will unlock up to 65,000 new homes across England.

The next round of funding through Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 will be announced later this year.

The fund is part of the Government’s long-term plan for housing, setting out how it will deliver its manifesto commitment of 1 million homes over this Parliament. This is backed by £10 billion in housing supply interventions announced over this Parliament.