£36 million for development of Brownfield Land

The Government recently announced that £10 million is available for local authorities to help in the preparation of brownfield land for the development of starter homes. This will predominantly be used to acquire sites, with money from the sales going back to the government.

The announcement comes at the same time as the Communities Secretary set out a £26 million fund for housebuilders to offer higher quality and more affordable homes for first time buyers under the age of 40.

This fund is anticipated to speed up the development of housebuilding, with the government announcing that 200,000 homes will be ready by 2020. It will also be used to create a network of support for architects, developers, councils, housing associations and small builders, which will be crucial in ensuring that new properties are at the pinnacle of design.

To help reach this aim, brownfield land – which was previously used for industrial and commercial purposes – has now been made available for starter home projects. With a shortfall in land to build on, the rules for gaining planning permission on brownfield land have been somewhat loosened in recent months.

In a report, housing minister Brandon Lewis said: “Helping young people achieve their dream of home ownership is a real priority for this government. We’ve already helped more than 100,000 households through our groundbreaking Help to Buy scheme and starter homes are another game-changer.”

As remediation experts, VHE welcome the news that more land will be made available for housebuilding on brownfield land and look forward to helping the government to reach their target of 200,000 homes in the next five years.

If you are interested in working with one of the UK’s leading land remediation contractors, please do not hesitate to contact VHE today by calling 01226 320 150 or alternatively you can use our quick enquiry form.