Buy Now, Pay Later development sites revealed
Thursday, 31 March 2011 4:19 PM
Housing minister Grant Shapps has unveiled plans to offer developers the chance to 'Build Now, Pay Later' – and has now revealed six sites for development, five of which will be available under the deal.
The purpose of Build Now, Pay Later is to boost the number of homes being built, as it allows developers to pay for land after they've started building on it.
Although Shapps has said he expects every government department to free up unused land for this purpose, the first six sites are being offered by the Homes and Communities Agency. The amount of land being made available is enough to build up to 3,000 homes, and the government believes this could support as many as 18,000 jobs in construction and related industries.
The six sites being offered for development are:
- Blackwall Reach, Tower Hamlets: This land is owned by Tower Hamlets Council, which wants to demolish the 1960s Robin Hood Gardens housing estate currently standing on the plot. More than 1,600 homes will be built on the Build Now, Pay Later site, including 700 'affordable' ones.
- Cotgrave, Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire: The site, which will eventually feature 470 new homes, is owned by Rushcliffe Borough Council and the local Police Authority. The land will be available through Build Now, Pay Later. The town centre is also set to undergo regeneration.
- Croppings, Lightmoor, Telford: Developer Keepmoat has been chosen to build 100 new homes on this site under the Build Now, Pay Later scheme.
- Park Prewett, Basingstoke: This former hospital site is being redeveloped and will offer 585 homes. David Wilson Homes has been announced as the preferred developer to work alongside the Homes and Communities Agency and Basingstoke and Dearne Borough Council on the project. The site will be delivered through the Build Now, Pay Later scheme.
- Ransome Road, Northampton: The 23-hectare brownfield site near the town centre has been earmarked by the Homes and Communities Agency for 450 new homes. The land is owned by organisations including Northampton Borough Council and Network Rail. There is potential for 800 further properties once a new road link has been completed.
- Spencer’s Park, Hemel Hempsted: Jointly owned by the Crown Estate and the Homes and Communities Agency, the plot will be the site of a 372-home development called Cherry Tree Lane. The Crown Estate land will be made available under Build Now, Pay Later.
Shapps said his plans were intended to address the fact that, during the past decade, house-building has been at its lowest peacetime level since 1924. He said: "Up to 40 per cent of the land ready for development in this country is simply sitting idle in the hands of the public sector.
"So today I'm giving the green light to the Homes and Communities Agency to lead the way by making six new sites available for development.
"Many of these sites will be available under Build Now, Pay Later, giving builders access to land they only pay for once the homes are built."
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