BREAKING: Regional mayors to lead home-building drive
Mayors outside London, such as Andy Burnham in Manchester, will be able to use "sweeping measures to strip away barriers" to building.
Regional mayors are to lead a blitz on affordable housing designed to inject some life into the Government’s home-building programme.
Mayors outside London are being given £150 million “to transform neglected brownfield land”, the Government says.
Sweeping measures
They will use “sweeping measures to strip away barriers for councils to build at scale”, and create thousands of homes.
The Mayors will now have powers to influence how £7 billion is spent under the Government’s affordable homes drive.
Families living in temporary accommodation and on council waiting lists will be targeted with opportunities to move into new build properties.
Around 180,000 new homes across England including Greater Manchester, where Andy Burnham (main picture) is Mayor, the West Midlands and the North East are planned.
Getting behind mayors
Steve Reed, the Housing Secretary, says: “Families have been trapped in so-called temporary accommodation for years or stuck on council waiting lists with no hope of a secure home.
“We’re changing that for good with the biggest boost to social housebuilding in a generation, and getting behind mayors who are ready to build affordable housing across their regions.
“We’re also backing councils to build again and transform derelict sites into thriving neighbourhoods, urging them to go big, go bold and go build,” he says.
The new programme forms “a cornerstone” of the Government’s plan to build 1.5 million homes in this Parliament, putting social and affordable housing “at the heart of delivery”.
