Councils are to be given £68m to build thousands of new homes on disused brownfield sites, the government has announced.

Funding will go directly to 54 councils who will be able to use the money to transform neglected land – in a move  that is expected to deliver 5,200 new homes.

Announced by prime minister Keir Starmer, the funding will mean councils can clear empty buildings, former car parks and industrial land to make way for the homes.

The government says 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 be able to cover the cost of decontamination, clearing disused buildings or improving infrastructure such as internet, water and power.

Labour’s manifesto has pledged to deliver 1.5m new homes over the five years of this parliament.

Prime minister Keir Starmer said the government was “rolling up its sleeves and delivering the change the British people deserve”.

Housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook said: "The government is committed to a brownfield-first approach to housebuilding, and we have already taken steps to prioritise and fast-track building on previously used urban land through our proposals for a ‘brownfield passport’.

"The funding announced today will support the delivery of thousands of new homes and boost economic growth by unlocking development on scores of abandoned, disused and neglected urban sites 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 much-needed affordable homes
• £2.2m  to Eastbourne to transform a former industrial site, to build 100 new homes including 80 affordable houses
• More than £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

It has also been announced today that Homes England 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 (BIL) 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.

To accelerate housing development the government has also taken steps including an overhaul of the planning system, launched a New Homes accelerator group and introduced brownfield passports.

The news comes as earlier today it was announced that tens of thousands of new homes will be built across Britain funded by more than £550m worth of impact investments.

These investments, whereby a fund creates beneficial social or environmental impact, has now grown to £76.8bn in the UK in assets under management.