Newcastle City Council has received a boost of over £16 million pounds in funding from central government. The money will be used to aid the construction of thousands of new homes.
The cash will be spent on infrastructure improvements, such as building new roads, drainage systems, junctions and a school.
This infrastructure will make land suitable for the construction of new housing. The council can then work with developers to bring new sites to market.
This will lead to the construction of 5,282 homes across Newcastle.
The central government money – £16,657,000 in total – will be used for infrastructure improvements at:
- Newcastle Helix, supporting the building of 398 homes
- Ouseburn Mouth, supporting the building of 221 homes
- Outer West (Newbiggin Hall, Callerton and Kenton Bank Foot), supporting the building of 4,265 homes
At Newcastle Helix, £4,999,998 will be spent on constructing paths and roads, as well as on public open spaces, green spaces and drainage.
At Ouseburn Mouth, £1,750,000 will go on rectifying problems with a pumping station at Malmo Quay and laying foundations for buildings.
A new secondary school will be constructed at Outer West and an existing primary school relocated so it is within the new school’s site. Six road junctions will also be improved, resulting in a spend of £9,906,709 at Outer West in total.
Newcastle City Council’s 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.”
The central government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund aims to help deliver up to 100,000 homes in England. This programme will see grants worth a total of £2.3 billion given out to local councils.
The housing minister, Kit Malthouse, 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.”
(The featured image shows an artist’s impression of the housing planned for Newcastle Helix.)
