Cheshire East Council is to use £1m to encourage housing development across the Borough.
The money from the Council's capital fund will be used to encourage developers and social housing providers to bring forward stalled housing sites.
Cheshire East Council's Housing Challenge Fund, which will be launched on January 31st, will award grants of up to £150,000.
The downturn in the economy has significantly hampered the building of new houses, which the Council says are urgently needed to boost the economic growth of Cheshire East.
By the end of 2012, there were 6,600 dwellings with planning approval in Cheshire East and there were many smaller sites which have full or outline planning permissions where development has not started and where there is no indication of a start date. These have the potential to deliver more than 2,000 homes across the authority.
Cheshire East is trying to encourage developers to start to build on these sites to bring forward both market value homes and affordable housing.
Councillor Jamie Macrae, Cabinet member with responsibility for prosperity and economic regeneration, said: "The provision of housing is a key priority for the Council.
"Housing is fundamental to the wellbeing and prosperity of Cheshire East and can have an impact on health, educational attainment, carbon reduction and care for older people. Providing sufficient housing is essential to maintain economic growth and vitality.
"The Housing Challenge Fund will help give developers an incentive to start building and bring forward much-needed accommodation for the people of Cheshire East – as well as support our plans to deliver economic growth."
Developers and registered housing providers are invited to apply for a prospectus by emailing Vikki Jeffrey at [email protected]. The closing date for bids is March 31st and announcements will be made in May 2013.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.