£6m of the investment will go towards infrastructure needed to develop a new town centre, with the remaining funds to be spent on construction of new schools as part of the next phase of the Cranbrook scheme. The investment in infrastructure is expected to accelerate the pace of the delivery of new homes from 300 a year to up to 500, Prisk said in a statement.
The investment is the first allocation of £225 million earmarked by Chancellor George Osborne last week in his Autumn Statement for the delivery of 50,000 new homes in large, locally-supported housing programmes across the country.
"This Government is serious about building more homes," said Prisk. "That’s why we have been looking carefully at how we can accelerate large, planned housing schemes that already have the support of local people, but need help to move forward in the current economic climate. So I’m delighted that I can announce our intervention will help unlock the delivery of over 6,000 new homes in Cranbrook, and create thousands of jobs for local people."
Prisk said there would be further announcements to come on funding for other schemes.
"In the months ahead I will be announcing support for similar schemes. That means more investment, more jobs for our young people and more affordable homes for families across the country. We have set aside considerable funding to assist large housing programmes like Cranbrook, and I would urge anyone with similar proposals to come forward and contact my department," he said.
"We have a unique opportunity here to create Cranbrook’s town centre as a shining exemplar of how all town centres can function," said East Devon District Council leader Paul Diviani. "With support from central government our vision of a town centre that is vibrant, attractive, welcoming, the beating heart of the new community, can become a reality much sooner than previously expected."
"The Government has shown its commitment to housing and development as a major route to driving economic growth and we welcome the confidence Ministers have shown in our ability to deliver its key initiatives, supported by new investment," said Homes and Communities Agency executive director for the south and south west, Colin Molton. "It’s welcome news also that Cranbrook is rightly identified as a vanguard project which will help drive economic growth in the South West, by providing the essential investment needed to deliver the second phase of the project."
