Housing Minister Grant Shapps announced Government plans to release enough public land to build as many as 100,000 new homes and support as many as 25,000 jobs by 2015.
The amount of previously-developed land owned by the public sector is more than twice the size of Leicester. The Minister confirmed that by this Autumn, every Government department with significant landbanks will publish plans to release thousands of acres of previously-developed land to housebuilders.
To make this radical ambition a reality by 2015, the Public Expenditure Committee, a Cabinet Committee chaired by Francis Maude, will go through each department's plans, to make sure every possible site is made available for housebuilding.
Alongside this, property specialists from across Government will work with each department and challenge them to release as much land as they can for new homes.
Ministers are also encouraging councils to follow the lead set by central Government and make their unused land available for development.
Later this year, a new map will be launched to show land and buildings owned by public bodies in each area. A new Community Right to Reclaim Land has been introduced, enabling residents to apply to organisations - including central Government departments and councils - to bring their sites back into use.
Grant Shapps also outlined his own department's contribution, as the Homes and Communities Agency publishes its plans to release more land for redevelopment. This includes a 'Build Now, Pay Later' deal, which offers a boost to housebuilders who only pay for the land once work has started on the new homes.
Housing Hartlepool
Housing Hartlepool is transforming the Belle Vue estate by building around 100 eco-friendly homes. The scheme will transform an area which forms a key gateway into the town, replacing unpopular and outdated housing.
Lifelong resident Bob, who took the controls of the first demolition digger when the project got underway in 2008, has teamed up with local MP Iain Wright to declare the show house open.
Housing Hartlepool, which is part of Vela Group, plans to offer two, three and four bedroomed houses and some bungalows, with options for sale, rent and shared ownership.
__________
Jephson Homes Housing Association
Gardeners from a Wiltshire village are plotting to become more self sufficient thanks to a donation of land for allotments from Jephson Homes Housing Association.
Growers in Sutton Benger have been hard at work clearing the plots over the last two weeks and some have already started planting vegetables, including potatoes, asparagus and lettuce.
The land donation of 0.66 acres formed part of a new Jephson housing development in the village, which was officially opened. The development consists of seven two, three and four bedroom houses.
The homes have been built on land which has been designated a rural 'exception' site, meaning that only affordable housing can be built there if a local housing need is identified.
The scheme meets Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes and is also fully Lifetime Homes compliant.
__________
Rural Stirling Housing Association
New Minister for Housing and Transport, Keith Brown MSP, opened a Rural Stirling Housing Association (RSHA) development of 18 new homes for rent at Kippen.
RSHA worked closely with the local community in relation to the development of the site. A panel of representatives from Kippen Community Council was involved in a series of meetings with RSHA staff and the architect to discuss the housing mix and design of the new homes.
A local lettings initiative was agreed to give greater priority to those in housing need who live in or have a need to move to the local area.
__________
Sentinel Housing Association
The Association has been working closely with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council on the Popley regeneration project and have just celebrated the first tenants moving into their new homes,
In just a year Faroe Close and Maldive Road has been transformed, with the outdated maisonettes and concrete walkways replaced with stylish family homes and apartments, as part of a £40 million project.
The regeneration will complete in 2013, providing 202 new homes, newly equipped play areas, two new shops, well-lit footpaths, and a large 'kick-about' area. A local boarded-up pub is also likely to be replaced, subject to planning permission, which will provide a further 42 homes and two shops.