New public money focussing on unlocking brownfield land to pave the way for up to 116,000 new homes has been announced by the government. The £624m funding is available to all housebuilders particularly SMEs to help them pay for key infrastructure such as public transport and new schools as well as land remediation. Housing minister Christopher Pincher said: “This money will build on our commitment to bring derelict and abandoned sites back to life, regenerating towns and cities as we level up across the country.”

But the National Federation of Builders, NFB, said while the loans were of some help the government still needed to improve the system. NFB head of housing and planning policy Rico Wojtulewicz said: “Finance remains a challenge for SME builders and the home building fund does help some to access lending. However, it is still viewed by industry as bureaucratic and not appreciative of the staffing expertise difference between SMEs and large PLCs, plus it doesn’t always offer as competitive rates as the market.”