Green communities could boost construction

21 July 2022

An earlier blog post on the site reported on survey data suggesting that the pace of construction activity might be cooling because of factors like general price inflation, fuel costs and supply chain disruption in the wake of the Ukraine conflict. 

That item ended by saying that some future posts would try to focus on more positive developments, and one of these perhaps is the government’s recently stated intention to provide £15 million of funding for building new homes in garden communities across England.

This is part of a £69 million programme to deliver up to 16,000 homes per year from 2025, creating almost 200,000 jobs in schools, shops and offices developed within each community, according to the government.

Examples include Long Marston in Warwickshire, which was formerly a disused airfield and will see 3,500 new homes being built, with a requirement for 35 per cent affordable housing.

Halsnead Garden Village in Knowsley will deliver 1,619 new homes in Merseyside along with 22.5 hectares of land for new businesses. A country park and wildflower meadows will also be created.

And West Carclaze Garden Village in Cornwall will support the delivery of up to 1,500 new homes as well as walking and biking trails.

The announcement builds on reforms in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill with the introduction of mandatory design codes stipulating that developers respect styles drawn up and favoured locally, taking account of factors like the layout or materials used.