DfT commits £165m to unlock stalled sites
Due to launch in the next few weeks, the Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund will provide local authorities with cash to build the transport infrastructure required to deliver previously unviable housing and commercial projects.
Local authorities will be invited by the Department for Transport to register potential projects for the £165m fund in due course. The rolling programme of successful projects will be published at the end of the 2026/27 year.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “This fund will pave the way for developments that have sat idle for too long, funding the transport links that stalled sites need to get moving and generating new jobs and opportunities for communities that deserve them.
“It is a deliberate choice – and a signal that this government is serious about removing the barriers to growth.”
Housing secretary Steve Reed added: “This government is firing on all cylinders to get spades in the ground faster so we can build new homes, bolster our transport links and create jobs in the places most in need.”
The fund is part of the government’s broader £27bn Road Investment Strategy, which will see £3.3bn spent on improving motorways and A roads in the North West – including supporting the dualling of the A6 between Penrith and Scotch Corner.
The Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund is not to be confused with the similarly named £1.5bn Housing Acceleration Fund that was announced by the Treasury earlier this month. While GHAF is open to all local authorities, only strategic mayoral authorities will be able to bid for HAF cash.
The two funds build upon a growing list of government initiatives to stimulate housing delivery. The National Housing Bank will launch on Thursday, bolstered with a £16bn financial capacity and a promise to provide long-term, flexible capital to support housing delivery across the country.
Government’s New Towns programme is also gearing up to properly begin, with a final decision on the locations of the urban extensions and new settlements due to be made this summer. Of the seven in the running, only two are in the North: Manchester’s Victoria North and Leeds South bank.
Let’s hope that Liverpool applies. Since not one penny of that £3.3bn is currently being spent on the Liverpool region.
By John
All getting a bit confusing with a plethora of funding pots being announced seemingly at random.
By Anonymous
@John Liverpool only applies if it includes cycle lanes. Have you seen its draft LTP? Totally lacks vision
By Frank
@Frank – isn’t the vision for greater levels of cycling and lower car dependency?
By Cycle of Liv
@cycle all the research shows there is little if any mode shift from car to cycling. If you want to get people out of their cars rai or tram is the most successful. Liverpool CR know this but are heavily influenced by the cycle lobby
By Frank
Agree most cycle lanes in Liverpool are deserted , add to the mix the often cold and inclement weather nothing will changes . The cycle fanatics will have a hissy fit but unfortunately look at trams use against a cycle lane ? Its not that we are anti cycling its more the reality of British weather , narrow roads and the success of tram systems
By Paul