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New Homes Bonus is rewarding communities that go for growth
December 2, 2011 2:06 PM
By Andrew Stunnell in Liberal Democrat Voice
By Andrew Stunnell in Liberal Democrat Voice
Councils across England will receive a cash boost today with the provisional allocations of this year's New Homes Bonus money being announced by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Now in its second year, the New Homes Bonus is proving to be a powerful incentive for local authorities to drive development and build the houses that we so desperately need.
Councils are rewarded for building new homes, and bringing empty homes back into use. Council tax on each home is matched by the Government for six years, with extra money for every affordable home.
The key things Liberal Democrats need to know about the announcement are:
- This year the Coalition is paying out £430 million - more than double the money allocated in the first year.
- 159,000 homes were eligible for the New Homes Bonus -a mixture of new homes and empty homes brought back into use.
This is 10,000 more than last year. - 307,000 homes have been eligible for the New Homes Bonus over the last two years combined.
- 353 councils in England will benefit, including Tower Hamlets (£10m), Birmingham (£7.5m), Leeds (£5.4m), Cornwall (£5.1m), Manchester (£4.6m), Bradford (£3.9m), and Sheffield (£3.3m).
Beyond this, the New Homes Bonus is also having an effect on bringing the numbers of Empty Homes down too. I successfully argued within government that empty homes should be eligible for the New Homes Bonus, to reward councils that made efforts to get them back into use. More than 37,000 empty homes have been brought back into use by councils in the last two years. This year's figure of 21,000 was 6,000 higher than last year, netting councils an extra £19 million, and ensuring that councils in areas with low demand for new build housing, or limited space for development, can still be rewarded if they bring their empties back into use.
This year's allocation also sees the payment of the affordable homes premium for the first time, worth £350 extra per affordable house. We're paying out £19.4 million to councils, who've built almost 60,000 new affordable homes since last October.
Gone are the days of imposed targets from Whitehall. Labour's top-down approach to building homes just didn't work. It was unrealistic and ineffective, and didn't take into account local needs or wishes. In the last year of the previous Government, for example, Labour were guilty of missing their own house building targets by a whopping 78,000 homes. Instead the New Homes Bonus is introducing a culture change - making it easier to persuade local people to go for development, and rewarding communities that go for growth.
Don't just take my word for it; listen to the people on the ground. A recent national survey revealed that nearly three quarters of councils thought the cash payments made a significant contribution towards funding local services, and more than four out of ten councils said it was now easier to persuade their local community about the benefits of growth.
These are all very pleasing figures, and show that councils are getting on with the job of getting Britain building again, with positive action in their local communities. Not only are they delivering desperately needed homes for their local residents, but they're getting extra cash to reward them for doing it. After thirteen years of Labour's failed approach, the Coalition is determined to get Britain building again, and the New Homes Bonus is doing exactly that.
Andrew Stunell is the Lib Dem Communities Minister and MP for Hazel Grove.
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