B&NES Council has been awarded more than £5 million by the Government for its work in helping to deliver new homes across the district.

A record 1,245 new homes were built in B&NES between April 2017 and March 2018, of which 192 were affordable. 249 of these properties were created by converting buildings which were previously used for business purposes. During the same period, 74 empty properties were brought back into use.

As a result, the Council has been awarded £5.1 million from the New Homes Bonus Scheme. The scheme was introduced by Central Government in 2011 to encourage Councils to grant planning permission for building new homes in return for additional revenue.

Councillor Paul Myers, cabinet member for Economic and Community Regeneration, said: “This is fantastic news. Bath & North East Somerset’s allocation is on a par with big cities like Bristol and Birmingham and way above other comparable historic city districts such as Oxford and York. It proves we are delivering on our commitment to help meet the housing needs of local people and it’s our residents who will benefit as the extra cash will help fund essential services.”

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New housing developments have also generated more than £11 million income from the Community Infrastructure Levy, which is being spent directly on new infrastructure.