Thousands of new homes will be built on land owned by the Ministry of Defence and Network Rail, ministers have announced, in a drive to meet the Government’s housebuilding goals.
Ministers will launch a new cross-Government taskforce, involving officials from the MoD, Treasury and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, aimed at speeding up housing development on publicly-owned land.
Surplus defence land will pioneer the scheme, with plans to build several thousand homes on sites in North Yorkshire, Nottingham and Cambridgeshire in coming years.
Network Rail is, meanwhile, setting up a development company to build as many as 40,000 homes on its estate over the next decade.
The building efforts come after the Chancellor claimed at the spring statement that planning reforms undertaken by the Government will place it within “touching distance” of its pledge to build about 1.5 million new homes by the end of the Parliament.
Rachel Reeves described surplus Government land as “a huge untapped resource that could create opportunities for the next generation of homeowners”.
The Chancellor added: “In contrast to the failed approach of the past, we are making the best use of public land to build the homes that families and our Armed Forces need, improving opportunities for homeownership and creating jobs across the country.
“The OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) has confirmed our planning reforms will result in housebuilding being at its highest in over 40 years – that won’t just bring jobs and economic growth – but also will give families the homes that they deserve, delivering on our plan for change.”
The first of the sites opened to new homes will be at Deverell Barracks, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, which will be transferred to Homes England in order to speed up plans to build 1,300 homes.
This is expected to act as a pilot for future similar endeavours, which could include a further 1,300 homes to be unlocked at Chetwynd Barracks near Nottingham, and thousands more at Wyton airfield, Cambridgeshire, in coming years.
Defence Secretary John Healey has identified opportunities to build more than 100,000 homes on surplus military land in future.
Part of this will include a commitment to building new military family homes, following the return of Armed Forces housing to public ownership earlier this year.
Mr Healey said the taskforce heralded “a new, trailblazer approach to the use of public land which will not be a fire sale of public assets, but a truly cross-Government effort to remove blockers, deliver homes and boost growth in support of our plan for change”.
He added: “This taskforce is a bold first step, as we make the most of an historic opportunity to build over 100,000 homes on surplus defence land in the coming years, delivering on our commitments to British families and our Armed Forces.”
Elsewhere, Network Rail has plans develop as many as 40,000 homes on rail estate land by creating its own development company.
This will include as many as 5,000 homes at Newcastle Forth Yards; 1,500 homes at Manchester Mayfield station; and at a mixed-use development in Nottingham which could yield 425 homes.
