Government announces new funding to enable 8,500 new homes to be built

Some £142 million is to be spent on infrastructure in England to enable the building of thousands of new homes, the Government has announced.

The money will be spent on widening bridges, building roads and connecting utilities so up to 8,500 properties can be built with £95 million going to Woking and £47 million to Truro.

Housing Minister Kit Malthouse said that the new funding is part of the drive to hit its target of building 300,000 new homes a year in England by the mid 2020s.

‘We are driving to create homes, opportunities and thriving communities. We need to keep upping our game and build more, better, faster, if we are to meet our ambition. The funding comes from the Government’s £5.5 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund so that land can be made ready for development,’ he said.

Money is allocated to authorities after a competitive funding allocation process. In this round the funding will be used to widen the Victoria Arch Bridge, road improvements, buying land and connecting utilities so that 4,500 homes can be built in Woking.

The project, which is being delivered by Surrey county council, is expected to significantly reduce congestion in the area, as well as opening up land for housing.

Some 4,000 homes will be built in Truro as a result of a £47 million investment in new road links. It will be spent on a new northern access road, connecting sites from the A390 in the west to the Royal Cornwall Hospital and employment hub in the east.