Thirty local authorities to lead starter home building effort

3 Jan 17

The government has given the green light for thousands of new starter homes to be built on brownfield sites across the country, with 30 local authority partnerships chosen to spearhead the scheme.

Aimed exclusively at first time buyers, the houses will be available for 23-40 year olds and priced 20% below market value.

Housing minister Gavin Barwell said the initial wave of 30 local authority partnerships had been selected on the basis of the potential for early delivery.

The local authority partnerships were established under the government’s £1.2bn Starter Homes Land Fund last year, paving the way for the development of starter homes across England.

Today’s announcement follows a commitment made by the government shortly before Christmas to a £60m boost to affordable housing in those council areas most affected by second homeownership.

Meanwhile, in the Autumn Statement in November, Philip Hammond signalled the government’s intention to tackle the housing crisis by pledging to double spending on housebuilding in real terms.

According to the government, the developments announced today will “support the growth and regeneration of local areas… including some town centres sites, and help make sure this is a country that works for everyone”.

Barwell said the government was committed to helping first time buyers get on the housing ladder.

He said: “The first wave of partnerships shows the strong local interest to build thousands of starter homes on hundreds of brownfield sites in the coming years. One in three councils has expressed and interest to work with us so far.”

The Homes and Communities Agency received 79 expressions of interest from120 local authorities across the country outside London, many involving joint submissions.

Building work on the new sites is expected to begin later this year.

The Starter Homes Land Fund was created in April last year to prepare suitable land for starter homes that can be built on by developers or through accelerated construction by 2020. Around 70 locations around the country have so far received investment through acquisition, remediation or de-risking. 

In addition, the HCA has called for expressions of interest from local authorities interested in using land to deliver homes quickly through the £1.7bn accelerated construction recently announced in the Autumn Statement. According to the government, this will see 15,000 homes started on surplus public sector land this Parliament.


The 30 Starter Home Land Fund partnerships are:

  • Blackburn with Darwen Council
  • Blackpool Council
  • Bristol City Council
  • Central Bedfordshire Council
  • Cheshire West and Chester Council
  • Chesterfield Borough Council
  • Chichester District Council
  • City of Lincoln
  • Ebbsfleet Development Corporation
  • Fareham Borough Council
  • Gloucester City Council
  • Greater Manchester Combined Authority
  • Lincolnshire County Council
  • Liverpool City Council (in association with Sefton, Knowsley, Halton, Wirral, St Helens)
  • Luton Borough Council
  • Mid Sussex District Council
  • Middlesbrough Council
  • North Somerset Council
  • Northumberland County Council
  • Pendle Borough Council
  • Plymouth City Council
  • Rotherham Metropolitan Council
  • Rushmoor Borough Council
  • Sheffield City Council
  • South Kestevan District Council
  • South Ribble Borough Council (in association with Preston City Council and Lancashire County Council)
  • South Somerset District Council
  • Stoke-on-Trent City Council
  • West Somerset Council (in association with Taunton Deane Borough Council, Sedgemoor District Council)
  • Worthing Council

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top