Today the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, alongside the Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, set out a major housing and planning package that will help deliver:

•up to 70,000 new homes, including affordable housing and opportunities for first-time buyers to get onto the housing ladder

•140,000 jobs and a boost to the construction sector

•£40 billion guarantee for major infrastructure projects and £10 billion for new homes.

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This includes a series of measures aimed at supporting businesses, developers and first-time buyers, while slashing unnecessary red tape across the planning system.

The Prime Minister said: "The measures announced today show this Government is serious about rolling its sleeves up and doing it all it can to kick-start the economy. Some of the proposals are controversial; others have been a long time in coming. But along with our Housing Strategy, they provide a comprehensive plan to unleash one of the biggest homebuilding programmes this country has seen in a generation. That means more investment around the county; more jobs for our people; and more young families able to realise their dreams and get on the housing ladder."

(CD)