West Yorkshire's Brownfield Housing Fund awarded £20m extra funding
A major boost for housebuilding in the region has been announced by West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin, in the form of an additional £20 million to expand the Brownfield Housing Fund.
The extra government funding is confirmed ahead of a meeting of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority on October 16.
It reflects the strong performance of the region’s Brownfield Housing Fund to date, and is welcomed by the Mayor as a major vote of confidence in West Yorkshire’s ambitious pipeline of regeneration schemes.
The money will help to accelerate the delivery of homes across the region.
The now £110 million fund, which sees the Combined Authority work with the private sector, local authorities and housing associations to unlock new developments, is already allocated and on track to exceed its original target for homes started on-site.
As a result of the uplift, construction of hundreds of additional homes will start by March 2029, taking the programme’s overall figure to over 6,000 homes.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “Everyone deserves a safe, secure roof over their head, and this extra funding is a strong vote of confidence in our housebuilding success.
“By regenerating brownfield land first, we’re building the right homes in the right places – affordable, cheaper-to-heat and better-connected – while protecting our vital green spaces.
“Devolution is working for West Yorkshire, empowering us to deliver record numbers of affordable homes, to give people the security that can only start with a decent home.”
In further support for people in need of affordable housing, the Combined Authority has been awarded £100,000 from the government’s new Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery initiative – part of a wider £84 million package to tackle homelessness this Winter.
The region is also set to benefit from long-term housebuilding certainty through a share of the new 10-year, £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme, which will help partners to plan and deliver new homes at scale and at speed.
The funding announcement follows the selection of Leeds South Bank by the government as one of the most promising locations for a ‘new town’ – that should help unlock at least 10,000 new homes within the South Bank masterplan.
West Yorkshire has already delivered more affordable homes than at any time since the global financial crash.