Ministers have confirmed the allocation of the £500 milllion Growing Places Fund, designed to boost economic growth by getting the required infrastructure built to enable the creation of new homes.

The funding has been allocated to the country's 38 Local Enterprise Partnerships who will now decide what to prioritise locally. The fund can be used to establish revolving funds to take forward a range of projects that can help boost economic growth, as Local Enterprise Partnerships offer funding to developers, but also secure a return on that investment.

In addition, Housing Minister Grant Shapps confirmed cash for 353 councils, who will receive a share of £432million New Homes Bonus funding after delivering 159,000 homes last year - and from a second round of payments for homes built the year before. This year's payment includes the first premium for affordable homes, which totals £20 million.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps said: "The Growing Places Fund will unlock further sites for development, creating new jobs in those areas, while the New Homes Bonus recognises the efforts that have been made over the last year to deliver thousands of new homes and bring empty properties back into use."

Further information
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