The Government has announced a multi-million pound investment, including £53m to accelerate the construction of over 7,000 new homes in key areas of the UK.

Communities secretary, Eric Pickles revealed the investment plans at the Chartered Institute for Housing conference in Manchester and stated that although progress had been made, more needed to be done to fix the housing market.

In addition to the £53m invested in the Local Infrastructure Fund for properties in Manchester, Medway, Swindon and Kettering, the Government has also set aside a further £1bn to supply the next five years of the programme.

Over £49m has also been awarded to three Buy to Rent schemes in Croydon and Hampshire to build another 540 homes, pushing the total number of homes built under the scheme to 1,600.

A further £3m is being given to planning authorities to get past site issues such as finalising section 106 agreements, signing off planning conditions and speed up processes to get work started on sites as soon as possible.

Speaking about the investments, Mr Pickles said: 'In 2010 we inherited a paralysed housing market and a collapsing rate of construction. Since then we’ve delivered over 445,000 new homes, and house building is at its highest rate since 2007 and still climbing. The resurgence in house building is clear evidence that the government’s long-term economic plan is working, but there is still more to do.

The investment we’re announcing today will help us meet this challenge by driving up the supply of new homes in every corner of the housing market. From new places for rent to people designing to those building their own properties – we will support and deliver the homes this country needs.'