DLUHC confirms Wolverhampton and Sheffield among those to benefit and says white paper due shortly
Wolverhampton and Sheffield will receive funding through the government’s £1.5bn brownfield regeneration fund, the government has announced.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) said the two cities will be prioritised and will be among 20 places “transformed” through its plans to ‘level up’ England.
The announcement comes ahead of the long-awaited levelling up white paper, which the government is expected to publish on Wednesday this week. A DLUHC spokesperson said: “Derelict sites in towns and city centres will be transformed creating new homes, jobs and beautiful new communities across England.”
It has been widely reported the £1.5bn fund is not a new spending pledge, but will be taken from the £1.8bn brownfield regeneration funding announced in the Autumn Budget. The government has not yet revealed the other 18 places to receive funding.
DLUHC also said a £1.5bn levelling up home building fund will be launched next week to provide loans to small and medium sized (SME) house builders.
Ministers say this will enable the delivery of 42,000 homes mainly outside London and the south east. It is not clear whether this fund is on top of a similar package of loans announced in 2020.
The regeneration programme will be led by Homes England, which is being “refocused” to focus on ‘levelling up’ and supporting local leaders.
“Homes England will partner with local leaders, the private sector and community groups to turbocharge regeneration and deliver new housing, health and education and leisure facilities, roads and railways,” a DLUHC spokesperson said.
A total of £120m will also be given to seven mayoral combined authorities to turn derelict brownfield land into housing. West Midlands, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Liverpool, South Yorkshire, North of Tyne, and Tees Valley will gain around 7,800 homes, according to DLUHC. A further £30 million is being awarded to mayoral combined authorities in Greater Manchester, Tees Valley and West Midlands on disused brownfield land. Meanwhile, £8 million from the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) is being allocated to 13 councils which will release land for a further 898 homes.
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Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said she is ‘reservedly optimistic’ about the plans.
She said: “The regeneration of 20 towns and cities is a positive first step for the levelling up white paper. Previous regeneration projects have put strategic planning at their heart and shown how the planning system can set the context for development, creating a more sustainable and healthier built environment.
“The RTPI’s hope the model established by these schemes can be adopted across England to help communities restore pride in the places they live, work and interact.
Opposition MPs however responded by criticising the government’s apparent recycling of previous funding announcements
Lisa Nandy, shadow housing secretary, said: “I don’t think Tory MPs are going to find it very reassuring when the supposed new pot of gold contains not a penny of new money”.
DLUHC has been approached for comment.
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