Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

DCLG announces housing zones shortlist and successful bidders for LDO support

09 Jan 2015, 5:06 pm

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has issued a shortlist of 29 areas outside London from which ten will be chosen to become 'housing zones' under a policy announced in June.

The DCLG has also announced the 37 councils which will receive a share of a £5 million fund to help deliver brownfield sites with local development orders (LDOs) attached.

UK chancellor George Osborne announced plans in June for the allocation of 30 housing zones on brownfield sites across England, 20 in London and ten outside London, in which planning restrictions will be removed using LDOs, enabling rapid delivery of residential development.

The shortlist issued yesterday follows an invitation to councils across England to team up with developers and apply to establish one of the housing zones proposed outside London. Each of ten bidders selected from the shortlist will receive a share of £200m in government loans towards the cleaning up of sites capable of providing at least 750 homes and the delivery of infrastructure to enable their rapid development.

Successful bidders will be able to access borrowing at reduced rates. They will also receive access to planning support from the government's Advisory Team for Large Applications and "brokerage support from central government to help remove barriers that are preventing schemes from moving forward".

In August, the DCLG also invited councils to bid for a share of a £5m Local Development Order Fund to help them prepare LDOs for brownfield sites capable of supporting 100 homes or more. According to the list of successful bidders (1-page / 134 KB PDF) issued yesterday, the largest award was granted to Manchester City Council, which will receive £475,500.

Large awards were also allocated to Gloucestershire County Council, North Somerset Council, North Tyneside Council, Swindon Borough Council and Teignbridge District Council, each of which will receive more than £250,000 from the fund.