Homes England has agreed funding deals worth £38.2m with six local authorities to speed up the construction of at least 2,072 homes across the country.

The deals are the latest to be awarded through the government’s £350m Local Authority Accelerated Construction (LAAC) programme, which was launched to help unlock public land and increase the speed of delivery on local authority housing schemes.

The funding will be used by the local authorities to invest in infrastructure and enabling works to get 13 sites – from Somerset to Cheshire – ready for the development of new homes. 

Local authorities awarded funding are encouraged to use both local SMEs and modern methods of construction (MMC) – from factory fabricated components to 3D modular construction – on their sites, to reflect the government’s commitment to investing in infrastructure and widening the use of smaller builders on publicly owned land.

This latest announcement includes deals with local authorities in both the north and south of England as follows: (local authority / funding amount / estimated number of homes / number of sites):

• North Somerset Council: £11,344,785: 522: 3;
• Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council: £4,303,500: 444: 2;
• Bristol City Council: £577,065: 50: 1;
• Hastings Borough Council: £6,970,181: 198: 1;
• Hull City Council: £362,355: 121:1;
• Cheshire West & Chester Council: £14,677,800: 737: 5.

Stephen Kinsella, chief land and development officer at Homes England, said: “This funding will enable local authorities to prepare their sites for development and to bring forward the construction of homes. New homes will then be built out at pace using modern methods of construction.”