Nus Ghani, MP for Wealden, has been informed by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) that the ‘Accelerating Wealden Delivery’ funding bid has been advanced to the next stage for consideration of £32 million of capital funding.
‘Accelerating Wealden Delivery’ is a joint expression of interest between Wealden District Council and East Sussex County Council made to MHCLG in September, for funding under the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF).
The bid focuses on three key areas in improving Wealden; the mitigation of nitrogen deposition in the Ashdown Forest, delivering a new primary school in Hailsham and improvements to the A22/A295 access corridor.
If Accelerating Wealden Delivery is successful, it will unlock 4,500 homes within the current local plan across Wealden, primarily around Hailsham. It is expected that a final decision on funding will be made in the summer.
Nus Ghani, MP for Wealden, said: “I recently met with Sajid Javid MP, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to raise funding for vital infrastructure in Wealden, covering issues from roads to rural broadband.
“I am pleased that Wealden has been granted this opportunity to secure much needed funding to support local homes and local people.
“Accelerating Wealden Delivery will unlock Wealden’s potential, developing our infrastructure and delivering more homes where they are needed.
“There is much more work to do and I look forward to continuing to work with Wealden District Council to secure much needed support for Wealden.”
Notes
The Housing Infrastructure Fund is a £2.3 billion Government fund offering local authorities the chance to bid for support for up to 100,000 new homes. More information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-infrastructure-fund.
