Thousands of homes to be built on derelict and underused land

The government has announced plans to build thousands of new homes on underused and derelict land to regenerate local areas and help people on to the property ladder.

Nearly £58 million from the £75 million Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) has been allocated to 53 councils to fund the scheme.

Ministers say the funding will boost local areas by transforming disused sites into vibrant communities for people to live and work, with the demolition of unsightly derelict buildings and disused car parks and garages.

This will help to protect countryside and green spaces with an extra 5,600 homes being built on these sites.

The funding could also support up to 17,000 jobs across the housing and construction sector and the wider economy.

The plans include £5 million for self and custom build projects. A further £20 million from the BLRF has also been designated to help accelerate the self and custom build sector, with councils now able to bid for the remaining funding – giving local people the opportunity to build and design their own homes.

In other measures, the government last year announced the £400 million Brownfield Fund for 7 mayoral combined authorities which will also deliver new homes on brownfield land – unlocking 26,000 high-quality homes.

The £150 million backed Help to Build scheme was announced in April. It will allow access to low deposit mortgages and improve affordability of home ownership for people who want to build their own homes in a similar way to the Help to Buy scheme.

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