New funding to create 19,000 jobs and 17,000 new homes

One Public Estate has awarded £30 million to successful cross-public sector projects as part of its levelling up agenda, to deliver over 17,000 new homes, 19,000 new jobs.

The programme, which is run by the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Local Government Association, also seeks to save taxpayers £34 million as the UK government continues on its mission to build back better and level up across the country.

Funding has been awarded through the Land Release Fund (LRF) and the One Public Estate (OPE) programme, which works with 97 per cent of councils in England. Funding and support from the OPE programme will help with the creation of feasibility studies and design work for potential development sites.

Meanwhile, the LRF funding will support councils to regenerate mainly brownfield sites by providing capital funding for the provision of infrastructure work which will enable them to bring these sites forward for much-needed housing.

£10 million has gone towards projects that support collaboration between local and central government and the wider public sector, aiming to achieve greater levels of efficiency and improve service delivery. £20 million has been awarded as part of the Land Release Fund, which aims to enable the redevelopment of a large number of local authority brownfield sites for housing.

Lord Agnew, Minister for State for Efficiency and Transformation, said: “This government is committed to levelling up across the country as we build back better from the pandemic, creating new jobs and homes in our towns and cities. The latest projects to benefit from £30 million of One Public Estate funding will not only help unlock under-used public sector sites for homes but also help deliver jobs, better public services and save taxpayers’ money.”

James Jamieson, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “One Public Estate will play a crucial role in supporting the local and national economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. This funding will support local authorities to make better use of their assets, release surplus land for new homes and help join up local services.

“It is a unique programme, which for almost a decade has been helping local authorities and public sector bodies to transform and reconfigure their services. This latest news is more proof that One Public Estate is working, it is helping local government to build on innovative work, and it is having a demonstrable impact on our local communities.”