Six hundred acres of surplus public sector land will be put on the market as part of a drive to deliver new homes and boost local growth, the Government revealed yesterday.
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the agency responsible for disposing of public land, has more than 80 sites for sale and will bring a further 40 more sites to market over the next 18 months.
The Government estimates these sites will support more than 5,000 homes as well as land for industry and business, and 20% already have outline or detailed planning permission.
‘Using surplus public sector land for housing has helped us get the country building again with the number of new homes up by 25%,’ housing minister Brandon Lewis said.
‘Selling off these sites will allow us to go even further, delivering on our ambition to support a further 160,000 homes, while providing a significant boost to local economies and the taxpayer.’
The housing minister also urged building firms to start work on the new sites as soon as possible.
‘I now want to see developers getting shovels in the ground as quick as possible and build the homes hard-working people want and deserve.’
The Land Development and Disposal Plan also sets out some key principles of land disposal, including a requirement for clearer objectives for each site prior to sale, early and meaningful market engagement with a transparent pipeline of sites, and clearer commercial terms.
