Infrastructure Revolution To Unlock Thousands Of New Homes

The Chancellor has announced more than £250 million funding for vital infrastructure that will unlock over 20,000 homes nationwide. This investment, from the Housing Infrastructure Fund, will pay for roads, schools, public transport and utilities in seven places across the Midlands, the East of England and South East. This money will ensure new homes can be built in areas of high demand where people want to live, connecting businesses with their workforce – boosting jobs, growth and living standards. Read more on the GovUK website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/infrastructure-revolution-to-unlock-thousands-of-new-homes

Housing Infrastructure Fund Disadvantages Northern Areas

The government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) is benefiting Southern areas at the expense of the North of England. As a result of a new formula applied to the funding that channels money more towards areas of ‘high affordability’, Northern local authorities have access to a far smaller pot when compared with Southern authorities. Inside Housing has collated information from all the authorities that have applied for money from the fund, which aims to build infrastructure to unlock the delivery of new homes, and applied the MHCLG formula for geographical targeting. This formula is intended to ensure that government funds go to the least affordable areas of the country. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/housing-infrastructure-fund-disadvantages-northern-areas-62879

Chancellor Hands Out £600m To Unlock 50,000 Homes

The government has announced that it will give £600m in funding to help deliver infrastructure projects that will unlock an estimated 50,000 homes. Chancellor Sajid Javid has revealed that the money would be given to five new infrastructure projects across the country that would open up sites for housing development. The money will come from the Housing Infrastructure Fund, the £5.5bn fund that was launched by Mr Javid in 2017 when he was housing secretary, and is aimed at giving money to local authorities that have plans to increase housing supply but have sites restricted by lack of infrastructure, or land in need of remediation work. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/chancellor-hands-out-600m-to-unlock-50000-homes-62851?utm_source=Ocean%20Media%20Group&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=10813953_IH-DAILY-19-8-2019-GR&dm_i=1HH2,6FS3L,8CKJV9,PINP5,1

New £3bn Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme Announced In Spring Statement

Chancellor Philip Hammond has used his Spring Statement to announce a new £3bn Affordable Homes Guarantee scheme. Hammond told the Commons the scheme would support delivery of around 30,000 affordable homes. And some £717m from the Housing Infrastructure Fund will unlock up to 37,000 new homes on sites in West London, Cheshire, Didcot, and Cambridge, Hammond said. Also announced were measures to help developers future-proof new build homes to meet low carbon heating and a Call for Evidence on an SME energy efficiency scheme. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/breaking-new-3bn-affordable-homes-guarantee-scheme/

Budget 2018: Housing

The Treasury has issued a summary of housing related measures announced in the Budget on 29 October 2018, including:

• a new Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme that will run from April 2021 for 2 years

• extending Stamp Duty Land Tax relief for first time buyers to purchases of all qualifying shared ownership properties

• further investment to deliver more homes, including an extra £500m for the Housing Infrastructure Fund

• confirming that the Housing Revenue Account cap that controls local authority borrowing for house building will be abolished from 29 October.

Read the full briefing on the Treasury website.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/752109/Housing_web.pdf

Housing Infrastructure Fund :Written Statement

The Government announces that we will invest £866 million to help unlock up to 200,000 new homes through 133 Marginal Viability Fund projects, within the Housing Infrastructure Fund. The Government has set out a plan that puts us on track to increase housing supply to 300,000 homes a year and this first wave of funding from the £5 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund is part of a comprehensive programme to fix the broken housing market. This investment will fund key local infrastructure projects including new roads, cycle paths, flood defences and land remediation work where it is needed for new housing to be built. Without this financial support, these projects would struggle to go ahead or take years for work to begin, delaying the homes these communities need.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-02-01/HCWS440

Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to prevent land banking in local communities.

Alok Sharma: It is important to recognise that after planning permission for new homes is granted, a variety of factors can slow down delivery. Rather than focusing on a single issue, the Housing White Paper acknowledged that all parties in the development process need to play their part in speeding up the delivery of much-needed new homes. That is why the Housing White Paper set out a wide ranging approach to driving up build out of planning permissions. We have already taken important steps to help unblock sites, such as the introduction of the Housing Infrastructure Fund and we are considering how to take forward other elements of the Housing White Paper. In addition, we have recently consulted on what further action could be taken to increase build rates as part of our consultation on calculating local housing need. This consultation closed on 9 November and analysis of the responses is now underway.

Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

John Healey:  To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of 28 November 2016, Official Report, column 1229, who the intended recipients are of the Government's £25 billion investment; how much each of those recipients will receive; and on what basis that funding will be granted.

Gavin Barwell: The Government’s planned £25 billion investment in housing means we expect to double, in real terms, our annual capital spending on housing over this Parliament. The funding includes:

·        £7.1 billion to deliver affordable housing.

·        £2.3 billion to deliver starter homes across the country to support first time buyers.

·        £8.6 billion to extend the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme to 2021 which will help more people take steps towards owning their own home.

·        £2.3 billion for a new Housing Infrastructure Fund which will be allocated to local government on a competitive basis. The Fund will provide infrastructure targeted at unlocking new private house building in the areas where housing need is greatest.

·        £3 billion for the Home Building Fund, including £1 billion for loans of up to five years and aimed at SMEs and custom builders. £2 billion of the fund is available for larger sites and infrastructure with a much longer loan period.

·        £1.7 billion of funding to pilot ‘accelerated construction’ to speed up house building on surplus public sector land