Brownfield housing fund greenlit for Tees Valley, developers sought
A £33.3m package to unlock the delivery of more than 1,000 homes on brownfield land across the region has been unanimously approved by the Tees Valley Combined Authority.
The Brownfield Housing Fund will be used to prepare land for residential development, with the Combined Authority set to publish a prospectus and launch an open call for sites later this month.
Developers and landowners will be invited to submit expressions of interest for eligible schemes.
The funding is expected to help unlock the development of 1,085 homes by supporting remediation and enabling works on sites that might otherwise remain stalled or undeveloped.
The latest funding package builds on previous rounds of the Brownfield Housing Fund, which have supported the delivery of more than 1,500 homes across 11 sites in the region.
Schemes to have previously received backing include the 296-home Hillside Gardens development in Grove Hill, Middlesbrough, led by housing association Thirteen, the Union Village development at Gresham, and the Hartlepool Waterfront housing scheme being delivered by Jomast.
The Combined Authority said the new funding is intended to accelerate the regeneration of brownfield sites while increasing housing delivery across the Tees Valley.
The Combined Authority has worked closely with Homes England and Local Authorities on agreeing where new homes will go, in alignment with the recently agreed Local Growth Plan.
Support for the fund comes via the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and a business case featuring a more detailed plan for the housing will come to Leaders for approval later this year.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “Having a decent home gives families security, helps people put down roots and creates the foundations for our people to build their lives here.
“This fund makes the most of brownfield land across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool to create the homes local people need, while protecting our green spaces.
“These are real developments that will help us meet demand and support jobs in construction.
“We’ve already seen what this funding can deliver and we will help unlock even more sites to get more high-quality homes built across our region.”
Cllr Graham Harrison, TVCA cabinet member for energy infrastructure and housing and Leader of Hartlepool Borough Council, added: “This is welcome funding that will make a real difference. By helping bring challenging sites forward, we’re creating opportunities for new homes, new neighbourhoods and further investment in our towns.
“We all know there is strong demand for quality housing across our region and this funding will help ensure developments can move ahead where they might otherwise struggle to get off the ground. It’s good news for Hartlepool and every part of the Tees Valley as we continue working together to support growth and give local people more choice over where they live.”
Matt Forrest, chair of the Tees Valley Housing Partnership, said: “Tees Valley’s brownfield sites have capacity for nearly 9,000 new homes – we’re really excited by that potential.
“The main barrier to us building on these sites is financial viability. We’re an area with low land and property values, and the cost of cleaning up brownfield sites can be very high. This makes it very difficult for us to access funding to redevelop them.
“The Brownfield Housing Fund helps us plug financial gaps and makes it possible to regenerate some sites. We’d love to see the government devolve more funding to the Combined Authority so we can deliver more much-needed homes on brownfield.”
