More than 125,000 new homes will be delivered faster as the government expands its New Homes Accelerator programme to tackle stalled housing sites and boost progress on developments facing delays.
The announcement marks the next phase of the intervention scheme, with the Housing Secretary urging developers, councils and landowners to put forward additional sites that need support to get building underway.
For the first time, the Accelerator will also extend its help to smaller sites of under 500 homes, with a clear priority placed on accelerating delivery within this Parliament and increasing momentum in London, where housebuilding pressures are most acute.
Now entering its second stage, the Accelerator has already deployed planning experts to support local authorities and developers across England. By working more closely with statutory consultees and government departments, the scheme has helped move forward over 48,500 homes to date.
Through wider system reforms, including improvements to planning processes, infrastructure coordination (such as GP facilities and schools), and energy provision, the programme has also unlocked issues holding back a further 76,500 homes.
Seven new locations are joining the scheme, adding more than 11,400 homes across priority growth areas. These include several sites in and around the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor, such as:
- Land West of Howes Lane, North West Bicester
- Himley Village, North West Bicester
- Hawkwell Village, North West Bicester
- Wretchwick Green, South East Bicester
- Stewartby Brickworks, Bedfordshire
This expansion builds on the government’s wider planning reforms and long‑term ambition to deliver 1.5 million homes, helping more families and young people access high‑quality housing and home ownership.
Under Phase 2, the programme is strengthening operations in London through the launch of ‘NHA LDN’ and ‘ATLAS LDN’, two new support services led by the Greater London Authority (GLA) on behalf of the Mayor of London.
These services will:
- Bring together developers, boroughs and GLA partners (including Transport for London)
- Support stalled housing sites with coordinated expert input
- Provide independent planning advice to boost borough capacity
- Target London sites experiencing significant delivery delays
Three London sites have already received support through the Accelerator to help accelerate hundreds of new homes.
Also launching today is a new year‑round portal, enabling developers, councils and landowners to easily flag stalled or slow‑moving sites that could benefit from government support.
Following the success of the Accelerator since its launch in 2024, seven more sites across the East Midlands, East of England and South East are joining the programme, adding nearly 60,000 homes to the national pipeline.
Among the sites receiving targeted support from the expert delivery team are:
- Rectory Farm, Lincolnshire
- AGT‑2, Aylesbury, together providing more than 2,000 homes
At Aylesbury’s Hampden Fields, the Accelerator has helped unlock the delivery of 3,000 homes through close collaboration with Taylor Wimpey, Buckinghamshire Council and the Environment Agency. Significant progress has been made on securing essential Flood Risk Activity Permits, enabling the development to move ahead.
Steve Reed, Housing Secretary, commented:
“The number of families and young people locked out of the dream of home ownership is unacceptable so we are doing everything we can to make that dream come true.
“We’re stripping away the barriers blocking new homes being built and our New Homes Accelerator means 125,000 will now go ahead. But we’re just getting started.
“This next phase will see spades in the ground even faster as we build the 1.5 million homes this country needs.”
Since August 2025, improvements made in partnership with organisations such as the Building Safety Regulator, Natural England, Network Rail, the Environment Agency and National Highways have accelerated an additional 13,500 homes.
The expansion of the New Homes Accelerator marks a significant step in tackling delays, unblocking major schemes and ensuring housing delivery keeps pace with national need.
Image credit: iStock
