David Cameron pledges ‘Brownfield Fund’ for new homes, as Greens also launch their housing plans
The Conservatives have announced plans to allocate £1bn from the sale of right to buy homes to create a ‘Brownfield Fund’ for new homes.
Launched as part of the party’s manifesto yesterday, the fund would provide finance to unlock new sites for development but does not indicate whether the funds are for new homes themselves.
The commitment in the manifesto states that the Tories will: “Fund the replacement of properties sold under the extended Right to Buy by requiring local authorities to manage their housing assets more efficiently, with the most expensive properties sold off and replaced as they fall vacant.
“We will also create a Brownfield Fund to unlock homes on brownfield land for additional housing.”
The manifesto also committed the party to spending £100bn on infrastructure over the course of the next Parliament. The manifesto said the party would commit “to increase capital spending – investment in infrastructure – at least in line with our national income”.
The Green Party, which also launched its manifesto on Tuesday, announced plans to scrap the Help to Buy scheme in its entirety, which the Greens claim would save £600m per year. The manifesto states that the policy “does nothing to help those in the greatest housing need and contributed to excessive demand.”
The Green Party committed to building 500,000 new social-rented homes and the party would also introduce new empty property use orders aimed at halving the estimated 700,000 empty homes and also removing tax incentives on buy to let properties.
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