Weekly planning news

Government unveils £21.8m funding boost to help councils build affordable homes 

Councils in England can now bid for a share of £21.8 million in revenue funding to support the early stages of developing new affordable housing schemes. 

The funding, announced by Homes England, is being made available through the Council Housebuilding Support Fund (CHSF) and will help councils develop the skills, capacity and partnerships needed to prepare stronger bids for the Government’s £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP). 

Councils can use the funding for activities including housing pipeline development, pre-development and enabling work, partnership working and additional staffing. This could include identifying potential development sites, commissioning studies and securing technical expertise needed to bring schemes forward. 

Around 75 councils are expected to receive support through the fund. Each council can submit a proposal for up to £300,000 in each of the three financial years covered by the funding. 

The fund will support councils with the work needed to submit larger and more ambitious bids for capital funding through the SAHP, which supports the delivery of new social and affordable homes. 

Bidding opened on 21 September and will close at 2pm on 2 November 2026. Funding will be available until March 2029, with further bidding rounds expected in April 2027 and April 2028. 

The CHSF forms part of the Government’s wider £46 million Capacity to Build programme, which aims to strengthen councils’ skills, capacity and capability to deliver social and affordable housing. 

The programme also includes the Council Housebuilding Support Service, which provides tailored support to councils, and an expanded Pathways to Planning programme. 

Homes England will manage the application process and work with councils through its regional delivery teams, providing technical, strategic and practical support to help bring forward housing projects.  

Government announces plans to support delivery of 15,780 homes in Norfolk 

The Government has announced plans to support the delivery of up to 15,780 new homes in Norfolk through a new approach to managing environmental requirements linked to development. 

Natural England has published a draft Environmental Delivery Plan (EDP)¹ for consultation, covering areas including the River Wensum, Bure Broads and Marshes, and Yare Broads and Marshes catchments. 

The plan aims to address nutrient pollution in rivers and waterways, which has been a barrier to housebuilding in parts of Norfolk. 

Under the proposed approach, developers would be able to contribute through a Nature Restoration Levy, with funding used for environmental improvements across the area. This would provide an alternative to arranging individual mitigation measures for each development where the relevant environmental impacts are covered by the EDP. 

The proposed measures include restoring rivers, creating wetlands and managing fens and reedbeds, with funding ringfenced for conservation measures, monitoring and maintenance. 

The EDP is the first to be developed under the Government’s new Nature Restoration Fund, which provides a framework for addressing specific environmental impacts from development through coordinated conservation measures. 

The draft plan is now open for a 28-working-day consultation, with responses helping to shape the final EDP before it is submitted to the Secretary of State. 

Natural England is also developing EDPs for other areas where nutrient pollution is affecting housebuilding, with further details expected to be published. 

Further details on plan and consultation available on the government website.² 

Councils receive £91m to improve high-cost services 

Fourteen councils in England will receive a share of £91 million to support projects aimed at improving services including temporary accommodation, adult social care, children’s services and support for people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). 

The funding, announced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)³, will be spread across two financial years, with £41 million allocated in 2026-27 and £50 million in 2027-28. 

The projects have been developed by individual councils and include changes to how services are delivered, alongside greater use of technology and artificial intelligence (AI). 

Haringey Council will use £4.79 million to buy homes for temporary accommodation, with the aim of reducing reliance on external providers and helping more people move into settled housing. 

In Redbridge, £7.5 million will support the use of AI-powered technology in people’s homes to help them live independently for longer, while Brighton & Hove will use £6.4 million to pilot closer integration between its reablement service and NHS services. 

Other projects include improving SEND transport in Bradford, bringing children’s services together in West Berkshire and updating technology systems in Trafford. 

The funding is being provided to councils that already receive Exceptional Financial Support, a mechanism available to local authorities requiring additional support to balance their budgets. 

The Government said the projects are intended to provide evidence on different approaches to delivering high-cost services, with lessons from the 14 councils potentially informing future funding and service delivery. 

The councils receiving funding are Bradford, Brighton & Hove, Haringey, Havering, the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly, Lambeth, Redbridge, Redcar & Cleveland, Sefton, Stoke-on-Trent, Trafford, Waltham Forest and West Berkshire. 

1. https://consultations.defra.gov.uk/consultation-on-a-new-environmental-delivery-plan
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-unveils-plans-to-unlock-over-15000-new-homes
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/councils-high-cost-services-to-be-transformed-through-91m-fund?