Out-Law News | 13 Oct 2014 | 4:35 pm | 1 min. read
A total of 60 bidders will receive sums of between £36,000 and £120,000 to assist with issues delaying the start of work on sites for which development has been agreed. The funding is intended to speed up processes such as the agreement of section 106 agreements and the discharge of planning conditions.
Among the successful bidders were the London boroughs of Barnet, Ealing, Lambeth and Southwark, each being awarded £50,000; Hackney and Hillingdon, which will each receive £40,000; and the royal borough of Greenwich, which was awarded £36,000.
The largest award, of £120,000, was made to joint bidders Hart District Council, Havant Borough Council and East Hants District Council.
Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis said in a statement: "Our work to reform the planning system and get Britain building has already cleared the way to build almost half a million new homes since 2010, and seen planning permission granted on 230,000 homes in the last 12 months alone."
"Today’s £3 million will be a boost to sites that have the green light for development but are being held back by red tape," said Lewis. "The money will help councils clear the way for builders to get on site and get work underway quickly, providing families with new homes and boosting local businesses and jobs."
The DCLG invited bids for a share of the fund in July and bidding closed at the end of August.
The full list of successful bidders (2-page / 25 KB PDF) is available via the DCLG's website.