Local councils to build 4,000 homes with £55m Homes England grant

A dozen local authorities are to share a £55m funding grant from the government’s housing delivery agency, Homes England, to build 4,000 homes.

Homes England agreed the funding through the government’s £450m Local Authority Accelerated Construction Programme.

It said there would be an emphasis on the use of modern methods of construction, which it claimed would help increase the pace of building by an average of 40%.

Speaking about the funding arrangements, housing minister Kit Malthouse said the country had not built enough homes “for far too long” and the accelerated construction programme, together with the latest round of funding, would change that situation.

“This £55m funding boost will help councils get 4,000 new homes built across the country using the latest modern methods that cut down on construction time.

“We must keep building more, better, faster to meet our ambition to build 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s,” he added.

Stephen Kinsella, Homes England’s executive director for land, said: “This funding will enable local authorities to accelerate housing delivery by enabling them to prepare sites for development and bring forward the construction of new homes incorporating modern methods of construction.”