Government sets out ₤105.7m investment in the North West to help unlock potential 16,000 new homes

UP to 16,000 new homes are set to get off the ground across the North West, as the UK Government confirms ₤105.7 million investment in local housing projects on 1 February 2018.

Housing Secretary Sajid Javid and Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that 18 Council led projects across the North West will receive funding to support local work that will make housing developments viable and get much needed homes built quicker.

With the Government committed to building 300,000 homes a year by the mid 2020's, this 1st wave of funding from the ₤5 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund is part of a comprehensive programme to fix the broken housing market.

This latest investment will fund key local infrastructure projects including:- new roads, cycle paths, flood defences and land remediation work, all essential ahead of building the homes.

Without this financial support these projects would struggle to go ahead or take years for work to begin, delaying the homes these communities need. Together with the Government's Industrial Strategy, it will provide high quality infrastructure to support economic growth.

Housing Secretary Sajid Javid said:- "My priority is building the homes this country desperately needs. This 1st wave of investment in projects across the North West will help get up to 16,000 homes off the ground, making a huge difference to communities across the region. This is just 1 of the many ways this Government is taking action to get Britain building homes again."

Chancellor Philip Hammond said:- "Today marks the first step of the multi billion pound investment we announced at the Budget to help build the homes our country needs. This fund finances vital infrastructure such as roads, Schools, and bridges, which will kick start housing development in some of Britain's highest demand areas. This support will help us meet our ambitious plan of building 300,000 new homes each year and ensure we have enough housing in areas which need it most."

Projects from Fylde to Cheshire that will receive funding include:-

►  ₤10m to South Macclesfield Development Area to build a new link road to local housing sites and facilities, which will provide an additional 950 homes.

►  ₤3.7m to Centre Park Link, Warrington ensuring the project can be delivered despite funding gaps. This will ensure the delivery of over 500 homes.

►  ₤3.8m for the M55 Heyhouses Link Road project in Fylde; funding a crucial replacement to a road shut down since 2013, allowing the transport required to unlock 1,500 potential new homes.

The ₤5bn Housing Infrastructure Fund is a government capital grant programme to help unlock new homes in areas with the greatest housing demand. Funding is awarded to local authorities on a highly competitive basis.

The fund is divided into 2 streams:-

►  A Marginal Viability Fund; available to all single and lower tier local authorities in England; to provide a piece of infrastructure funding to get additional sites allocated or existing sites unblocked quickly. Bids have a soft cap of ₤10 million.

►  A Forward Fund; available to the uppermost tier of local authorities in England; for a small number of strategic and high-impact infrastructure projects. Bids can be up to ₤250 million.

The UK Government will be progressing Forward Funding projects over the coming weeks, with final funding announced in Autumn 2018.

The announcement on 1 February 2018 forms part of the Government's Industrial Strategy which sets out a long term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK. The Strategy sets out how we are building a Britain fit for the future; how we will help businesses create better, higher-paying jobs in every part of the UK with investment in skills, industries and infrastructure.