Communities across the South East are set to benefit from thousands of new homes thanks to the latest round of funding totalling over £2.5 million, Housing Minister Rt Hon Esther McVey MP has announced today.
A total of £6 million will be allocated nationally to help create up to 200,000 well-designed new homes through new garden towns and villages. And an additional £2 million will be given to councils in England to support new neighbourhood plans, including £410,000 for the South East, allowing communities to have their say on the types of homes that are built and where they should be.
Neighbourhood planning has been incredibly popular at the local level since it was introduced it in 2011 with nearly a million votes cast for neighbourhood plans and over 2,600 different communities coming forward with proposals.
The £410,000funding allocation builds on the government’s commitment to giving communities a voice on the development in their areas, including prioritising local brownfield land while protecting the green belt.
Today’s funding will support local authorities to deliver neighbourhood plans by:
• Providing advice and expertise to communities that want a neighbourhood plan;
• Organising an independent examination of draft plans; and
• Hosting local referendums that give communities a final say on these plans.
• Supporting communities who want to deliver new neighbourhood plans but have not been able to.
Housing Minister Rt Hon Esther McVey MP said: “Communities are best placed to decide where the homes they need get built, what they look like and the infrastructure that goes along with it – this is what neighbourhood planning is all about, so I’m pleased this funding for the South East will ensure that the right homes are built in the right places.
“I am also announcing extra cash to deliver new vibrant garden communities, which will deliver tens of thousands of much-needed new homes for hardworking families.”
Maria Miller MP said: “This additional £200k funding from the Government will help fund the work that is needed to plan the infrastructure needed for the Manydown development, particularly the roads that are needed to ensure this important Garden Town development has the proposer links.”
Seven garden towns and villages already in the pipeline for the South East will also receive a share of £6m to progress proposals, delivering up to 46,200 new homes.
The £2.1 million cash injection will mean homes get built that otherwise would not. This is because it will be used for preparing environmental assessments and using the latest design techniques to develop areas people will be proud to be a part of.