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The Government has today given councils access to over £100m to help maintain building family and first-time buyer homes, housing minister Margaret Beckett has announced.
The 2008-09 Housing and Planning Delivery Grant will provide for the first time additional direct funding top up for councils to ensure that new homes are built where families need them.
The Government has already announced a series of measures to alleviate the current challenges in the housing market and support the vital delivery of more homes over the long-term.
Beckett said:”We are determined to continue to do everything possible to ensure long-term fairness in the housing market all across the country – including providing more affordable homes we still need.
“The international credit crunch has created significant challenges for the UK but we have a growing and ageing population and the long term need to provide more homes has not gone away.”
“The allocation of £101m will go a long way to ensuring councils and builders are ready to take advantage when the upturn in the economy comes.”
In order to be eligible local authorities must show that they will continue to provide suitable land for development over future years, particularly as the housing market recovers, provide the local plans necessary to deliver the needed homes and carry out a strategic assessment of their housing market.
