{"id":9748,"date":"2015-03-11T17:00:56","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T17:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=9748"},"modified":"2015-03-11T17:00:56","modified_gmt":"2015-03-11T17:00:56","slug":"dclg-unused-public-sector-land-to-provide-10000-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=9748","title":{"rendered":"DCLG: Unused public sector land to provide 10,000+ homes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Department for <\/span>Communities and Local Government (<\/span>DCLG) has reported on the progress of land sales by government departments and the effects on housing site availability.<\/span><\/p>\n

DCLG writes:
\n<\/span>Enough unused public sector land has been released to build over 103,000 new homes, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced today (4 March 2015).\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: \u2018House building is at the heart of the government\u2019s long-term economic plan. That\u2019s 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I now want to see councils following Whitehall\u2019s example and explore what they can do to release land and deliver new homes and savings for local taxpayers.\u2019<\/p>\n

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: \u2018Housing starts are at their highest annual total since 2007, but it\u2019s clear we need to maintain this momentum and build the homes communities want and need.\u00a0 That\u2019s why for the last 4 years we\u2019ve pulled out all the stops to release formerly-used surplus public sector land for house building \u2013 meaning we have now exceeded our own target.\u2019<\/p>\n

The release of land is as follows:<\/p>\n