£16m boost for housing

Newcastle City Council has received £16m from Government for infrastructure improvements to support the construction of thousands of new homes.

The money will be used to build roads, junctions and a school enabling the council to work with developers to bring sites to the market.

It will aid the construction of 5,282 homes across the city.

The Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund will help deliver up to 100,000 new homes in England with £2.3 billion in capital grants to local authorities.

Housing Minister Kit Malthouse MP said: “We are committed to working together with ambitious councils and helping them deliver the homes this country so desperately needs.

“We are delighted to be supporting 94 infrastructure projects across the land which will kick-start property development.

“This is all part of our drive to build 300,000 homes each year, and ensure we have enough housing in areas where it is most needed.”

As part of a competitive process, the city council submitted four bids and was successful in three.

The money - £16,657,000 - will pay for infrastructure improvements at:

• Newcastle Helix supporting the construction of 398 homes
• Ouseburn Mouth supporting the construction of 221 homes
• Outer West (Newbiggin Hall, Callerton and Kenton Bank Foot) supporting the construction of 4,265 homes

Acting Director of Place, Michelle Percy, said: “We are delighted to have been successful in bidding for this money from Government.

“It will be used at sites being held back for housing to pay for new infrastructure such as roads and schools that enables the construction of new homes in areas of greatest housing demand.

“We expect to start putting the infrastructure in place later this year, so the homes can follow at pace.”