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Healey unveils £135m boost for housing delivery
18/03/10
Edited by Sophie Griffiths. Housing minister John Healey has announced a £135 million funding package to help 349 councils secure new residential property developments.
The money represents the second round of the three-year Housing and Planning Delivery Grant (HPDG) programme, which provided £100 million to support housing projects in 2009.
On average, councils receiving a share of the latest HPDG cash will get £370,000 to help them identify and release land for development, produce local strategies for meeting housing need and speed up the planning process.
Mr. Healey said that he is "determined" to increase the supply of affordable homes in order to reduce the pressure on waiting lists and support first-time buyers entering the market.
"The extra funding is a direct incentive for councils to plan and give the go-ahead to good quality local homes in their area," the minister added.
Earlier this month, Mr. Healey announced that planning policies on climate change, coastal change and the natural environment had been amended to create a "green planning rulebook" intended to help councils ensure developments are designed and built with the environment in mind.
