Despite the current condition of the housing market, the long-term need to build more homes remains - the population is continuing to grow, people are living longer, and there are more single households. And this money announced today will enable the local authorities with ambitious plans for growth to invest in the essential services that need to accompany the building of new homes, from transport links and schools to the regeneration of town centres and the provision of parks and other green spaces.
Under the Growth Points scheme over the next two years Greater Manchester will receive more than £12.2m, Liverpool and Wirral more than £6.3m and Central Lancashire and Blackpool more than £5.2m. A further £4m has been awarded to Halton, St Helens and Warrington, and £3.4m to local authorities in West Cheshire.
Housing Minister Margaret Beckett said:
"In these difficult economic times we must not lose sight of the long-term need to build more homes. Yet if the support for these new homes is not in place, their construction will be delayed when we need them most, hampering the economy's recovery. This means we need to be investing today in tomorrow's infrastructure, while allowing local authorities to decide their own local priorities for spending this money. Today's announcement delivers on both fronts.
"This money is targeted at those local authorities with the most ambitious growth plans. As well as helping to build the new homes we need, it will ensure we have the support and infrastructure in place so that these homes become part of the existing community, not a burden on their resources."
Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, said:
"This funding will play a significant part in helping growth areas deliver not only more homes, but the vital infrastructure that is needed to underpin new communities. Through our Single Conversation model we will be working closely with these local authorities to support them, not only in the delivery of growth, but to create a single investment plan that will successfully bring forward local goals in a more integrated way.
"As part of that Single Conversation we will be looking at how the economic downturn might impact on the timing and delivery of growth proposals and how the HCA can assist in maintaining and, where possible, increasing the momentum of growth and renewal programmes locally."
The £605m Growth Fund will be one of the funding streams managed on behalf of Government by the new Homes and Communities Agency. It is in addition to the £227m already being paid out for the current year, and completes an overall investment package of £832m for these local authorities. £12m of this will be made available specifically to help some of the growth authorities develop exemplar schemes in response to climate change, specifically supporting the delivery of government targets on carbon reduction, waste reduction and flood mitigation. Such solutions may take the form of site or area-wide proposals that deliver new communities with innovative approaches to providing low carbon energy supply and other environmental technologies that may serve a single site or number of potential development sites. The HCA will support local authorities in bringing forward costed proposals that draw on best practice, and to encourage sharing of expertise and will also advise CLG on the viability and deliverability of successful proposals coming forward. Details for this scheme will be announced next year.
In addition to the investment announced today, we will also soon be announcing which of these local authorities will get a share of £200m to pay for transport improvements through the Community Infrastructure Fund, also managed by the Homes and Communities Agency.
Nationally the Homes and Communities Agency will be working with local authorities to maximise the alignment of funding to area-wide objectives that serve existing and emerging local and regional strategies; and to ensure that projects create the capacity for strategic growth as well as also meeting local needs.
