Housing Minister John Healey (pictured) and Transport Minister Sadiq Khan have announced £30m for transport projects to support the thousands of extra homes being built across the country over the coming months.

Money from the Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF) will help fund crucial transport links to support the building of extra homes for first time buyers, families and people on waiting lists.

This strengthens commitments set out in the Prime Minister's Building Britain's Future plans, and the £1.5bn Housing Pledge that Mr Healey announced earlier this month, to build an additional 20,000 new affordable energy efficient homes over the next two years - and a further 10,000 homes for open market sale through the private sector.

-- Advertisement --

Building work is due to start in the coming months.

Mr Healey said: "We need to ensure that people and families living in new homes have the transport links they need, whether this is a new road, new bus links or cycle paths.

"This £30m boost for councils places them at the centre of supporting homes, jobs and growth, which is good news for the local area"

Mr Khan said: "Good transport links are a vital to the success of new housing developments, but is much more than simply getting people from A to B.

"We need to provide a range of options including provision for cycling, walking and public transport, if communities are truly to grow and thrive.

"I am therefore delighted that a significant proportion of this funding will go towards sustainable transport schemes that not only offer a genuine choice but also make low carbon travel a viable and attractive option."

Twelve schemes across the country are being paid for by CIF, nine of which are improved public transport or walking and cycling routes, as part of the Government's commitment to sustainable transport and reducing carbon emissions. These are in addition to the 42 existing CIF2 schemes that have been previously announced.

(CD/BMcC)