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<p>[holding answer 21 November 2013]: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.</p><p>As promised in the coalition agreement, this Government has scrapped top-down Whitehall planning, included ending the last Government's failed so-called eco-towns programme which built nothing but resentment. Instead, this Government is committed to working with local communities to build more homes and promote sustainable development.</p><p>To date, our large sites programme has provided total investment now of over £82.7 million of recoverable capital funding and nearly £6 million of capacity funding to bring forward up to 69,000 new homes.</p><p>We are supporting local ambitions for locally-led new communities that incorporate high quality and design standards, including garden city principles. We have provided support for the development of new communities such as:</p><p>Cranbrook near Exeter, where we have invested over £20 million to create up to 6,300 homes and 1,500 jobs;</p><p>Wokingham, where we have invested over £25 million to enable the development of up to 2,500 new homes and a Science and Innovation Park;</p><p>Sherford, where our investment of over £32 million will accelerate up to 5,500 homes and approximately 5,000 new jobs;</p><p>Ebbsfleet, where DCLG, DFT and the Highways Agency worked in close collaboration with local authorities and developers to find solutions to transport issues at eastern Quarry, helping to bring forward a site with wider potential for up to 22,000 homes.</p><p>In February this year we published a prospectus inviting bids for a further £474 million of recoverable investment for 2013-2015 through our Local Infrastructure Fund:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-infrastructure-fund-prospectus</p><p>Over 50 bids were registered and 14 sites were shortlisted for potential investment following detailed due diligence, which is currently ongoing.</p><p>For 2015-16 an additional £102 million of investment is available. We will launch a prospectus inviting further bids for this funding in the spring.</p> |