£5m Land Release Fund makes more unused public sector land available for affordable homes

The availability of affordable and social housing in Wales has received a boost thanks to the Welsh Government’s Land Release Fund (LRF).

The £5m fund, which has been designed to accelerate the availability of unused public sector land for the development of much-needed social and affordable housing, has supported seventeen projects this year. The successful projects are all delivering small scale, low carbon developments through the use of modern and innovative technologies.

Projects include:

• developing land for 18 affordable and social homes in Carmarthenshire.
• the purchase of empty property in Ceredigion for conversion into social homes.
• the demolition of a former industrial site in Swansea to build 15 affordable and social homes.
• preparing land for 26 affordable homes in Anglesey.
• delivering independent community accommodation for people with learning difficulties in Blaenau Gwent.

Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said: “Providing more social housing continues to be a top priority for the Welsh Government.

“The Land Release Fund has enabled us to accelerate our response to Wales’ housing needs, by providing the necessary funding to release undeveloped public land and build more affordable and social housing.

“The fund is also helping to provide a much-needed boost to the economy, in particular the construction industry and its associated supply chains.”

The Land Release Fund will continue to support additional projects next year with the Finance Minister committing a £10m funding pot as part of the 2021-22 Final Budget.