New fund to get Britain building

The Government has promised £500 million to help kick-start the construction of housing and infrastructure in an effort to “get Britain building again” and grow the economy.

The Growing Places Fund, announced by communities secretary Eric Pickles, is intended to cover the up-front capital costs that are said to be preventing getting projects off the ground.

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) has welcomed the initiative. She said: “Today’s housing challenge is compounded by a financial crisis and an ageing population, as well as new global pressures from climate change and economic restructuring.

“We must find a way to move forward into a new era of building attractive, high quality, sustainable new neighbourhoods - in garden cities, villages and urban extensions - and coordinated upfront infrastructure delivery is essential to meeting this aim. Initiatives such as the Growing Places Fund have the potential to really help get Britain building again, by unlocking stuck sites through the provision of key infrastructure such as improved local transport links tackling flood storage capacity.”

The Growing Places Fund will be available to help boost economic growth by getting the required infrastructure built to enable the creation of new jobs and homes by getting stalled projects moving again. The 38 local enterprise partnerships will be able to apply for the funding and then take decisions about what to prioritise locally. Councils will support these plans with their technical and financial expertise, as well as being accountable for the funding and acting as fund manager.