First Get Britain Building development receives funding

Developer Crest Nicholson has been granted £2.3 million funding to restart the building of 100 new homes in Ashford, Kent, on a 168 hectare development site called Cheeseman's Green.

The funding will ensure the delivery of the first phase of the scheme, which has planning permission for a "new community" including over 1,000 new homes and supporting leisure and community facilities.

The Homes and Community Agency selected the scheme on the basis of the Get Britain Building Fund criteria, which aims to unlock schemes which are of "high importance to particular communities and can create wider local benefits".

"The construction sector is recognised as a real driver for recovery and growth, and continued investment in the industry is essential," said Stephen Stone, chief executive of Crest Nicholson. "With every £1 spent on building work estimated to generate £2.84 of wider economic activity, this funding allocation is not only great news in terms of the delivery of much needed new housing, but will also inject a welcome boost into local economies."

Crest Nicholson has been shortlisted for £25.2m of funding from the Get Britain Building Programme, for schemes spread across eight different sites.

"It is expected that over the next two years the proposed funding for these sites will enable us to bring forward nearly 900 additional new homes. Plus, by unlocking schemes in this way, we anticipate that it will be able to release a further 5,838 homes in the future," the developer said.

Crest Nicholson’s Bath Riverside is due for consideration by the HCA in the coming weeks. The potential funding would be used to recommence construction of 81 new apartments, securing the future delivery of a further 2,122 plots on the site.