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Housing minister, Margaret Beckett , has allocated £584m to 163 local authorities to support new house building projects over the next two years. Ms Beckett published the list of councils which will share the CLG's Growth Fund on 10 December. Councils can use the money to assist with house-building and develop infrastructure designed to support housing projects in their localities, such as new transport links or new schools. ‘Growth point', a joint initiative to build 57,000 homes across 16 local authorities in the east Midlands, will receive £35m from the fund – the largest allocation. Other major recipients include projects in Cambridgeshire (£29m) and the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (£25m). Ms Beckett said the cash would inject cash into the housing sector at a vital time, helping the Government towards its longer-term house-building target. The demand for new housing has risen dramatically in recent years, fuelled by a combination of longer life expectancy, population growth and more single households. ‘In these difficult economic times we must not lose sight of the long-term need to build more homes. ‘If the support for these new homes is not in place, their construction will be delayed when we need them most, hampering the economy's recovery,' she said. Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency – which will oversee the use of the cash – said his team would monitor the impact of the current economic downturn to see where the HCA could intervene and support housing growth across localities. Last year, the Government allocated £227m from the Growth Fund to support housing projects.

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FINANCE

Councils get £584m for housing projects

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