New communities funding for councils

The Cabinet Office has announced that 90 per cent of councils are now part of a programme that will create 44,000 new jobs and release land for 25,000 new homes.

Allocated from the One Public Estate (OPE) programme, 56 council-led partnerships will receive £8.7 million of government investment to improve public services, stimulate economic growth and free up land for thousands of new homes. This enables authorities to use publicly-owned land and buildings more efficiently.

By 2020, partnerships on the programme are expected to deliver £615 million in capital receipts, £158 million running costs savings, create 44,000 new jobs and release land for 25,000 new homes.

Caroline Nokes, the Minister for Government Resilience and Efficiency, said: “When I launched this application round in August I hoped that new funding and the obvious benefits of the programme would grab the attention of councils and boost the numbers getting involved. I’m delighted to see that we now have over 90 per cent of councils on board, up from around three quarters previously. People in many more communities will feel the benefits of new housing, better public services and efficiencies as a result.”