Plan to regenerate brownfield sites to deliver hundreds of thousands of homes

Brownfield sites covering the equivalent of 2,000 football pitches could be turned into plots for new homes with a £1.8 billion injection set to be announced in the Budget.

It is hoped hundreds of thousands of homes could be built on regenerated land across the country, while England’s planning system will also face an overhaul including a raft of digitisation.

The Treasury said 160,000 new homes could be delivered, as well as transport links, schools and community spaces.

And £300 million of grant funding will handed to metro mayors and councils to unlock smaller brownfield sites for housing.

Meanwhile, a new £9 million levelling up parks fund will give cash to local authorities to spruce up 100 neglected urban spaces into pocket parks, which small areas of greenery, roughly the size of a tennis court, in otherwise built-up locations.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “We are investing in better quality, safer, greener and more affordable homes to create thriving places where people want to live.

“One of my favourite pastimes is to go for walks in the park with my family, and I want to make sure everyone has green space on their doorstep to enjoy too.

“Transforming our unloved and neglected urban spaces will help protect our cherished countryside and green spaces, while improving the physical and mental health of our communities.”

Mr Sunak is also expected to confirm that £65 million will go towards a digital transformation of the planning system through development of new software.