The third allocation of the New Homes Bonus for Solihull has been announced. The provisional allocation for Solihull Council will total £1,874,822. This includes the third year 1 instalment of £925,418 the second year 2 instalment of £536,218, and £413,186 to be paid in 2013-14. This year 3 instalment will be paid for 6 years. It includes an affordable homes premium of £40,600.The third allocation will total £661million for English local authorities and the total amount of funding awarded under the New Homes Bonus will reach almost £1.3billion.
The Government introduced the New Homes Bonus in April 2011. The Bonus aims to ensure that the economic benefits of housing growth are returned to the councils and communities where that growth takes place. For every new home built and occupied, Solihull Council will receive six years of New Homes Bonus grant from the Government. The Bonus is based on the council tax of additional homes and those brought back into use with a premium for affordable homes and paid for six years. It ensures that those local authorities that promote and welcome growth can share in the economic benefits and build the communities in which people want to live and work.
Commenting on the new allocation, local MP Caroline Spelman said: “This is very good news for the people of the borough. We gain from the provision of new housing and the New Homes bonus enables the local authority to spend the Bonus on tangible projects such as village hall improvements, play areas, youth clubs and allotments.
“The construction industry will welcome the new incentives being offered to councils to kick-start house-building which has suffered through the recession. The New Homes Bonus works alongside the existing planning system and is not intended to encourage housing development that would otherwise be inappropriate in planning terms. For that reason, I hope that developers will use their creative flair in designing schemes for brownfield sites and conversions which can offer good returns on investment while providing much needed new homes in the borough.”
All provisional allocations can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/increasing-the-number-of-available-homes/supporting-pages/new-homes-bonus .