The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has reported on the progress of land sales by government departments and the effects on housing site availability.
DCLG writes:
Enough unused public sector land has been released to build over 103,000 new homes, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced today (4 March 2015). The amount of land sold by the government surpasses the original commitment set by the Prime Minister, and is expected to rise again by the end of March this year.
Now, the government is calling on councils and developers to help turn it into housing as soon as possible, and is urging local authorities up and down the country to follow this example and sell their redundant sites and buildings.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: ‘House building is at the heart of the government’s long-term economic plan. That’s why, rather than leaving surplus public sector land idle, we are putting it to good use by releasing it to build new homes across the country. This is part of wider efforts that have got Britain building again, leading to the delivery of 700,000 new homes since the end of 2009. I now want to see councils following Whitehall’s example and explore what they can do to release land and deliver new homes and savings for local taxpayers.’
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: ‘Housing starts are at their highest annual total since 2007, but it’s clear we need to maintain this momentum and build the homes communities want and need. That’s why for the last 4 years we’ve pulled out all the stops to release formerly-used surplus public sector land for house building – meaning we have now exceeded our own target.’
The release of land is as follows:
- Ministry of Defence – enough land for 38,661 homes, released ahead of schedule
- Homes and Communities Agency – enough land for 18,307 homes
- Department of Health and NHS – enough land for 13,039 homes
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – enough land for 11,675 homes
- London Legacy Development Corporation – enough land for 6,321 homes
- Department for Transport – enough land for 4,653 homes
- Public Corporations, such as Crown Estates – enough land for 4,113 homes
- Greater London Authority – enough land for 2,652 homes
- Ministry of Justice – enough land for 1,804 homes
- other smaller departments – enough land for 1,967 homes
