£205,000 government boost for new Hartlepool housing scheme welcomed by MP

The council successfully applied for a share of the £45m Land Release Fund set up to help kick-start house building projects up and down the country.

It is to support local councils to meet their ambition to unlock land they own for at least 160,000 homes by 2020.

The money will be used to combat barriers which would otherwise make land unusable for development.

Hartlepool Borough Council has been awarded £205,000 to help pay for decontamination and solve other problems on sites in Seaton Lane, freeing up land for 41 properties.

Successful bids to the fund were announced yesterday by Housing and Planning Minister Dominic Raab.

He said: “We are investing £45 million to build roads and provide utilities, so councils can release the land to get up to 7,280 new homes built.

“It’s part of our strategy to build the homes Britain needs, and carry local communities with us.

“We’re determined to make buying or renting more affordable for young families and those on low or middle incomes.”

The fund is part of the Government’s drive to see more houses built across Britain.

It has a target of one million new homes being built by 2020.

Hartlepool council has a target of delivering 409 new homes a year in its emerging Local Plan.

The Land Release Fund will support the building of 7,280 homes on council owned land in 79 schemes from Newcastle to Plymouth by March 2020.

Hartlepool’s funding allocation has been welcomed by town MP Mike Hill.

Mr Hill said: “The One Public Estate Programme which is jointly run by the Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association supports joint working across Central and Local Government to deliver ambitious projects to meet local needs and deliver ambitious transformational projects.

“It’s a fantastic achievement by the council to secure this additional funding for Seaton on top of the millions of pounds they have already committed to regenerating the area.”

The Department for Communities and Local Government says the fund was oversubscribed with more than £100 million worth of bids received from 143 potential projects.