Nearly £250 million of housing deals have been agreed that will deliver almost 25,000 more homes, said Communities Secretary, James Brokenshire MP.

As part of this, the government will be investing £157 million in infrastructure such as building roads and putting natural green space alongside developments.

Plus, a new partnership has also been struck by the government’s housing accelerator Homes England to build over 10,000 properties on Ministry of Defence land on seven military bases across the country – with the potential for more surplus army land to be used in the future.

James Brokenshire MP, said: “We delivered 222,000 homes last year which is the highest number in a decade, but we must keep upping our game. By investing in infrastructure, freeing up public sector land and offering targeted loans we are making the housing market work.

“These deals struck today will help us build almost 25,000 more homes – which is another symbolic step towards our homebuilding targets.”

Infrastructure investment

The government confirmed £157 million will be invested under the Housing Infrastructure Fund in schemes in Devon and Cumbria.

The money will pay for a new motorway link road between south Carlisle and the M6, unlocking up to 10,000 new homes at St Cuthbert’s Garden Village.

In Devon, £55 million will be spent on road improvements and other infrastructure so that 2,500 homes can be built to the south west of Exeter.

Homes for London

Two new neighbourhoods of 1,500 homes will be built in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park following a £78 million loan from Homes England. The loan is part of the government’s £4.5 billion Home Building Fund, which provides development and infrastructure finance to home builders.

It is anticipated that the first phase of the development will be completed in summer 2021, with work at East Wick and Sweetwater being fully completed by 2028.