‘Growth-point’ councils to receive an extra £605m

11 Dec 08
Local authorities that agree to more homes being built in their areas are to receive further government grants

12 December 2008

By Neil Merrick Local authorities that agree to more homes being built in their areas are to receive further government grants. A total of 163 councils with growth-point or growth-area status are being awarded £605m over the next two years after signing up to plans for an extra 1.3 million homes by 2016 — 30% more than originally planned. The allocations, announced by the Department for Communities and Local Government on December 10, included £12m targeted at authorities with exemplar schemes that respond to climate change, such as carbon reduction and flood mitigation. These are on top of £227m announced a year ago, which is being paid to authorities this year. Since the start of December, the fund has been managed by the new Homes and Communities Agency and councils can choose how they use the money. Housing minister Margaret Beckett said funds were targeted at areas with the most ambitious growth plans. She said the support will be in place so the homes will ‘become part of the existing community, not a burden on resources’. Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the HCA, said it would look at how to maintain and even increase the momentum of growth and renewal programmes during the downturn.

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