The West Midlands Combined Authority has secured £51m of government funding to transform derelict industrial land into housing.
The funding is made up of £24m from the government’s £40m National Brownfield Housing Fund and £27m from its Land Fund.
WMCA said the cash would be used to drive forward significant regeneration schemes across the region, including the former MG Rover site at Longbridge and other brownfield projects.
West Midlands mayor Andy Street said: “That we’ve managed to secure more than half of the National Brownfield Housing Fund that was designed to be for eight combined authorities across the country shows the strength of our bid, our excellent delivery record, and our expertise in unlocking challenging sites.
“With a further £60m of already-announced housing money also confirmed to be on its way to the West Midlands in the coming weeks, the new year has the potential to be a very good one for our future housing plans. We must keep up the momentum as housebuilding and brownfield land remediation will have a key part to play in our economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.”
Mike Bird, leader of Walsall Council and WMCA portfolio holder for housing and land, added: “We have been lobbying government hard for more funding for our regeneration programme. This latest announcement is tremendous news and real reward for the impact that the WMCA has made on housing delivery and urban regeneration in the region. But it remains just the latest tranche of investment that the West Midlands needs from government if it is to fully unlock the region’s huge brownfield regeneration ambitions.”
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