26 Towns In England To Receive £610m In Government Funding

Twenty-six English towns have received a portion of £610 million in government funding to help them rebuild their economies in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The money, which comes from the £3.6 billion Towns Fund unveiled in July 2019, is intended to kickstart urban regeneration and boost green transport infrastructure, tourism and jobs. It is also intended for education and vocational training courses, the MHCLG said. The cash was allocated through a series of “towns deals” which sets out how the money will be spent following proposals submitted by the local council. Read more on the ITV website.

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-06-08/covid-26-towns-in-england-to-receive-610m-in-government-funding-to-rebuild-after-pandemic

Cladding Culprits Are Getting £450m From The Taxpayer

The government has failed to recover a penny of the £450m it is giving landlords to fix unsafe cladding – despite promising to get tough with those responsible for installing the highly dangerous material. Last year, in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people, ministers began “naming and shaming” those who still hadn’t removed the flammable coverings on hundreds of high-rise buildings. The government department in charge of housing approved nearly £450m of handouts to those same landlords to speed the work along – but there were strings attached. Read more on the Huffpost website.

Cladding Culprits Are Getting £450m From The Taxpayer. They Haven't Repaid A Penny | HuffPost UK (huffingtonpost.co.uk)

ACM Remediation Far Slower Among Blocks That Have Received Government Funding

 Of the 83 private blocks with aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding that have completed remediation work, 73 (88%) have not received government funding, compared with just 10 (12%) that have. A total of 215 private high-rise blocks have been identified with ACM cladding, the same type of cladding used on Grenfell Tower. Of those, 101 have received funding from part of the government’s private sector ACM cladding remediation fund. Over a quarter (28%) of private buildings that have received ACM funding are yet to begin work, while work is in progress on 60% of these buildings. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/acm-remediation-far-slower-among-blocks-that-have-received-government-funding-69956?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Towerblock Residents Fear Cladding Nightmare Will Continue

Residents of towerblocks covered in flammable cladding still fear being made either homeless or bankrupt after being “abandoned by the government” despite minsters pledging £200 million to remove Grenfell Tower-style dangerous material. Campaigner Ritu Saha has told HuffPost UK that her south London high-rise is one of potentially scores will be excluded from the fund after the Tory U-turn, meaning months of anxiety, illness and financial pain will continue as their homes remain unsellable. Read more on the Huff Post website.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/cladding-residents-fears_uk_5ccb1497e4b0d123954fecad?guccounter=1

Ministers Ready To Fund Replacement Of Grenfell-Style Cladding

Ministers are believed to be poised to release hundreds of millions of pounds to fix private tower blocks wrapped in combustible Grenfell-style cladding after mounting public anger that dozens of freeholders and developers have refused to pay to make them safe. About 20,000 people living in private leasehold homes are estimated to be affected by the risk caused by the now-banned plastic-filled panels, similar to those which helped spread the fire at Grenfell that killed 72 people. Having spent months trying to persuade property companies to pay with only limited success, housing ministers appear to be convinced of the need to step in with public funds. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/08/ministers-ready-to-fund-replacement-of-grenfell-style-cladding

Just 5 Per Cent Of New Homes To Be Built With Government Money Will Be Most Affordable Type

Just 5 per cent of homes to be built with government money will be the most affordable type of housing despite the prime minister’s pledge to build a “new generation of social homes“, ministers have admitted. The government said only 12,500 of the 250,000 homes to be built with the affordable homes budget by 2022 will be social homes – equivalent to 2,500 per year. The other 237,500 are likely to be more costly “affordable homes”, which can be sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds or rented out at up to 80 per cent of full market value. Read more on the Independent website.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/government-housing-social-homes-spending-5-per-cent-affordable-council-theresa-may-conference-a8689591.html

Government Unveil £215m Housing Deal To Build 100,000 New Homes

Over a quarter of the new funding, £60m, will support affordable housing in the area to deliver more than 1,300 affordable homes – at least half of which will be for social rent – helping first time buyers and local people looking to get a foot on the housing ladder. There is also £150m for transport infrastructure – such as bridges, roundabouts and roads – across the region. The deal also includes £5m of funding to boost capacity within Oxfordshire’s six local authorities, such as additional resources to promote high quality design – helping Oxfordshire’s councils work in partnership to deliver the homes local people need. Read more on 24housing.

http://www.24housing.co.uk/news/government-unveil-215m-housing-deal-to-build-100000-new-homes/

Sharma Allots £22m For Communities To Help Deliver Housing

Housing and planning minister Alok Sharma has announced that £22.8 million of government funding will go to communities to help them deliver neighbourhood plans. He said the cash would give locals more of a say over growth in their area. The allocation splits down into £5.5 million a year until 2022 and aims to provide communities with specialist support to help deliver a neighbourhood plan. More than 400 successful neighbourhood plan referendums have taken place across England. Read more on the Planning Portal.