A major package of funding to build more than 1,000 homes on brownfield land across our region has been approved.
The £33.3million boost to build 1,085 homes across the Tees Valley was unanimously backed by the Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and Cabinet Members on Friday morning (31 July).
The Brownfield Housing Fund supports remediation and enabling works to unlock residential developments which might otherwise stall or remain undeveloped. The Combined Authority will be publishing a prospectus and issuing an Open Call for sites this month, inviting applicants to complete an expression of interest form.
Previous rounds of the Brownfield Housing Fund have provided more than 1,500 homes in our region across 11 sites, including backing the 296-home Hillside Gardens development led by housing group Thirteen in Grove Hill, Middlesbrough, the Union Village development, in Gresham, and homes on Hartlepool Waterfront by developer Jomast.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “Having a decent home gives families security, helps people put down roots and creates the foundations for our people to build their lives here.
“This fund makes the most of brownfield land across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool to create the homes local people need, while protecting our green spaces.
“These are real developments that will help us meet demand and support jobs in construction.
“We’ve already seen what this funding can deliver and we will help unlock even more sites to get more high-quality homes built across our region.”
The Combined Authority has worked closely with Homes England and Local Authorities on agreeing where new homes will go.
The approval aligns with the vision set out in the recently agreed Local Growth Plan for our region – which aims to ensure housing is built and sites are regenerated in the next decade.
Cllr Graham Harrison, TVCA Cabinet Member for Energy Infrastructure and Housing and Leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, added: “This is welcome funding that will make a real difference. By helping bring challenging sites forward, we’re creating opportunities for new homes, new neighbourhoods and further investment in our towns.
“We all know there is strong demand for quality housing across our region and this funding will help ensure developments can move ahead where they might otherwise struggle to get off the ground. It’s good news for Hartlepool and every part of the Tees Valley as we continue working together to support growth and give local people more choice over where they live.”
Matt Forrest, Chair of the Tees Valley Housing Partnership, said: “Tees Valley’s brownfield sites have capacity for nearly 9,000 new homes – we’re really excited by that potential.
“The main barrier to us building on these sites is financial viability. We’re an area with low land and property values, and the cost of cleaning up brownfield sites can be very high. This makes it very difficult for us to access funding to redevelop them.
“The Brownfield Housing Fund helps us plug financial gaps and makes it possible to regenerate some sites. We’d love to see the government devolve more funding to the Combined Authority so we can deliver more much-needed homes on brownfield.”
Support for the fund comes via the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
A business case featuring a more detailed plan for the housing will come to Leaders for approval later this year.
