Housing Minister Kris Hopkins has visited Corby to see how the town is enjoying a boost from housebuilding thanks to government support to unlock a stalled housing scheme.

The minister visited the Prior's Hall Park site in the town, a new development that will cover almost 1,000 acres and include 5,100 new homes, four new schools, 500 acres of parkland and more than 60,000 square miles of commercial space.

This previously stalled development has been unlocked with £4.8m government cash from the Get Britain Building programme, funding 169 new homes and essential infrastructure that will open up the remainder of the site to a range of housebuilders.

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Mr Hopkins met with young apprentices who have benefited from new housebuilding jobs in the town. He also visited the Corby Enterprise Centre for high-tech businesses. Opened in 2010, the centre is now home to 47 businesses, including Electric Corby, who are now pioneering cutting-edge, low carbon homes on the unlocked Prior's Hall site.

The minister said it proved the government's efforts to boost housebuilding were working and reaping rewards for the wider economy.

Mr Hopkins said: "This government is determined to get Britain building again. So I'm delighted to be in Corby today to see how our efforts are making a difference.

"Homes are now being built on this previously stalled site, with thousands more in the pipeline. That means new homes for hard working families, and thousands of jobs for young people in the town.

"But Corby also shows how our support for housing is giving a boost to the wider economy, with high-tech British companies like Electric Corby getting the chance to develop and grow their businesses through opportunities on housing sites unlocked with government cash.

"It's all part of our long-term economic plan to make Britain a country on the rise again, with world-beating companies and the right opportunities for hard working people."

(CD)