Almost £250 million of housing deals have been agreed by the Government to deliver 25,000 more homes across England, it has been announced.
The package includes over 10,000 new homes being built on Ministry of Defence land at seven military bases in conjunction with Homes England under the accelerated construction programme.
Some £157 million will be used for housing infrastructure in Cumbria and Devon, building roads and natural green spaces alongside developments while in London, more than 1,500 new homes will be built at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park thanks to a £78 million loan helping to fund the development.
Secretary of State for Housing James Brokenshire said that the deals are all part of the department’s drive to make the housing market work for everyone and deliver much needed homes across the country.
‘We delivered 222,000 homes last year which is the highest number in a decade, but we must keep upping our game as we strive to hit our target of 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s.
‘By investing in infrastructure, freeing up public sector land and offering targeted loans we are making the housing market work. These deals struck today will help us build almost 25,000 more homes, which is another symbolic step towards our home building targets,’ he pointed out.
Homes England have agreed a partnership with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to develop land being released by the Ministry of Defence and there is the potential for more surplus Army land to be used in the future.
‘As we work to make our military bases more modern and efficient, it’s important that former MOD land is used in a way which serves local residents and the economy. This new partnership underlines our commitment to helping housebuilding in this country and will provide good value for money to taxpayers,’ said Minister for Defence People and Veterans Tobias Ellwood.
Under the Housing Infrastructure Fund the deal for schemes in Devon and Cumbria will pay for a new motorway link road between south Carlisle and the M6, unlocking up to 10,000 new homes at St Cuthbert’s Garden Village.
In Devon, some £55 million will be spent on road improvements and other infrastructure so that 2,500 homes can be built to the south west of Exeter.
Two new neighbourhoods of 1,500 homes will be built in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park following a £78 million loan from Homes England, part of the Government’s £4.5 billion Home Building Fund, which provides development and infrastructure finance to home builders.
It is anticipated that the first phase of the development will be completed in summer 2021, with work at East Wick and Sweetwater being fully completed by 2028. Work has already begun on phase one of the site, which will include 130 new affordable homes and 105 for private rental, as well as more than 33,000 square feet of business and creative space.
In addition, up to 650 new homes will be built on three sites in Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, Hertfordshire, using Modern Methods of Construction which mean properties can go up more quickly.
The scheme, which is receiving £10.6 million of funding from Homes England, is the first to benefit from the government’s £450 million Accelerated Construction Programme. Work is due to start on the first site in Hatfield town centre in June.
