A major £33.3 million investment to unlock housing development across the Tees Valley has been approved, paving the way for the construction of 1,085 new homes on brownfield land across the region.
The funding package, unanimously backed by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and Cabinet Members, will help bring forward residential developments that may otherwise remain stalled or undeveloped.
The Brownfield Housing Fund is designed to support remediation and enabling works that make previously developed land suitable for housing. The Tees Valley Combined Authority will publish a prospectus and launch an Open Call for sites in early August, inviting interested applicants to submit expressions of interest.
The latest funding builds on the success of previous rounds of the programme, which have already supported the delivery of more than 1,500 homes across 11 sites throughout the region.
Among the developments to benefit from earlier allocations are the 296-home Hillside Gardens scheme in Grove Hill, Middlesbrough, delivered by housing association Thirteen, the Union Village development in Gresham, and new homes on Hartlepool Waterfront delivered by developer Jomast.
Mayor Houchen highlighted the wider social and economic benefits of the programme, as the region looks to increase housing supply while regenerating underused land.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said:
“Having a decent home gives families security, helps people put down roots and creates the foundations for our people to build their lives here.
“This fund makes the most of brownfield land across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool to create the homes local people need, while protecting our green spaces.
“These are real developments that will help us meet demand and support jobs in construction.
“We’ve already seen what this funding can deliver and we will help unlock even more sites to get more high-quality homes built across our region.”
The Combined Authority has worked alongside Homes England and local councils to agree the locations for future housing development.
The funding commitment also supports the ambitions outlined in the recently approved Local Growth Plan, which sets out a long-term vision for housing delivery and site regeneration across the Tees Valley over the next decade.
With demand for housing continuing to rise, the latest investment is expected to play a key role in transforming vacant and underused sites into thriving communities, while supporting economic growth and protecting valuable greenfield land.
Image credit: iStock
