Thousands of new homes to be built as part of the government’s plans to unlock disused brownfield sites.

Some £68m will go directly to 54 councils to turn neglected land into new homes. This category of land is expensive to prepare for housebuilding, meaning sites are sat empty and an eyesore for local communities.

With the funding, delivered through the Brownfield Land Release Fund, councils will cover the cost of decontamination, clearing disused buildings or improving infrastructure such as internet, water and power. As a result, land will be released to enable 5,200 homes to be built across the country.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says: “From the outset we promised to get this country building again to deliver 1.5 million homes over this parliament and help tackle the housing crisis we have inherited. That is the essence of fixing the foundations and driving growth.

“I said this government is on the side of the builders, not the blockers. And I meant it. This funding for councils will see disused sites and industrial wastelands transformed into thousands of new homes in places that people want to live and work. Our brownfield-first approach will not only ramp up housebuilding but also create more jobs, deliver much-needed infrastructure, and boost economic growth across the country.”

Some of the projects to benefit from the funding include:

• £2.9m to Manchester to unlock a vacant brownfield site to build 220 affordable homes;

• £2.2m to Eastbourne to transform a former industrial site, to build 100 new homes including 80 affordable houses;

• Over £1.7m to the town centre in Weston-Super-Mare to allow over 100 homes to be built on brownfield land;

• £1.4m to Northampton to transform a former bus depot and deliver 72 new homes.

The Homes England quango will be investing £30m to help accelerate the transformation of the Riverside Sunderland area from a former industrial heartland into a thriving new place. The Brownfield Infrastructure Land investment will support a broader project aiming to create around 1,000 new homes, new community infrastructure and one million square feet of tailored office space for UK and international businesses, providing accommodation for between 8,000 and 10,000 jobs.