Funding secured for brownfield homes

CHESHIRE East Council has secured funding for a new initiative to get more homes built on brownfield land.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has confirmed a grant – expected to be about £100,000 – to help make two sites in Macclesfield ready for development.

The money is from a £5m fund set up to enable planning authorities to establish Local Development Orders (LDOs) on brownfield land.  LDOs streamline the planning process and save time and money.

Brownfield land has been used for 77% of the 4,000 homes built in Cheshire East over the past five years.
 
Macclesfield is the borough’s pilot area for projects to create more housing in or close to town centres and this forms part of the Council’s overall town vision.

Alongside efforts to get more houses built on brownfield land, grants to convert unused floors above shops into modern, affordable apartments are available under a town living Initiative run by the Council in conjunction with the Homes and Communities Agency and social landlord Contour Homes.

Caroline Simpson, Cheshire East Council’s executive director of economic growth and prosperity, said: “We have got brownfield sites in Macclesfield that need funding if they are to be developed.

“The Council has a brownfield-first policy on housing and we are actively seeking ways to ensure that we build on any previously developed land before encroaching on the countryside or green belt.”