Hundreds of homes to be built on neglected land

More than £1.7m will be spent in Weston-super-Mare

Hundreds of new homes are to be built on disused brownfield sites across the South West, with new government funding.

Exeter, Gloucester, Stroud, Plymouth, Bristol and Weston-super-Mare will be awarded a share of more than £6.4 million to transform neglected land into new homes.

The funding is part of the Brownfield Land Release Fund.

Bristol City Council will get nearly £2.5m to deliver 171 new homes and North Somerset Council more than £1.7m to deliver 112 new homes.

In Weston-super-Mare, more than 100 homes are to be built on brownfield land - most of them affordable properties.

North Somerset Councillor Mark Canniford said: “We’re particularly pleased to be able to demonstrate our commitment to mixed tenure development by offering a majority of affordable homes."

Exeter City Council will get more than £860,000 to deliver 37 new homes; Gloucester City Council nearly £690,000 to deliver 45 new homes; Plymouth City Council £540,000 to deliver 31 new homes and Stroud District Council nearly £120,000 to deliver seven new homes.

In total, £68m in funding to be spread across 54 councils was announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

He said: “From the outset we promised to get this country building again to deliver 1.5 million homes over this parliament and help tackle the housing crisis we have inherited. 

"This funding for councils will see disused sites and industrial wastelands transformed into thousands of new homes in places that people want to live and work."