Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land Fund
If you need funding or support to unlock a housing-led development, we can work with you to identify how best to deliver the project.
Applies to England
What the fund supports
We want to support a diverse range of partners, both public and private sector, to unlock strategic housing sites including housing-led, mixed-use opportunities where brownfield, infrastructure or land projects face delivery and/or viability challenges.
The fund supports the delivery of smaller, locally important sites, as well as larger-scale transformative projects of regional or national significance.
Eligible activity includes:
- land acquisition, preparation and enabling works
- brownfield site remediation and works to heritage assets
- provision of on- and off-site utilities and transport infrastructure
- provision of placemaking improvements and community facilities
- provision of section 106-required infrastructure (excluding affordable housing)
- capitalised fees required to deliver the project
We know that each situation is different and want to work with you to understand which solution works best for you on an individual or multiple site basis.
We can offer a flexible range of funding solutions to partners. To maximise the impact of the fund, we’ll also undertake activity directly as the government’s national housing and regeneration agency, including in partnership with others, where this aligns with our strategic plan.
If you’re building homes for sale or rent, you can also apply for development finance from the Levelling Up Home Building Fund.
The Affordable Homes Programme is also available to partners who want to deliver affordable housing for rent or sale.
Eligibility for funding
Up to £1 billion is available for projects across England. However, we would expect the main source of funding for projects within the Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authority areas to be accessed locally in line with arrangements agreed with government. For the London BIL allocation, this is not currently open to applications.
You may be eligible for funding if:
- you meet the strategic aims of the fund
- your project would stall, or could not progress, without this funding
- your project will lead to the development of new housing
- your project represents value for money
- you are a UK-registered corporate entity, limited liability partnership (LLP), or English local authority or public entity
- your project will contract by 31 March 2026
We cannot fund projects where:
- there are new leasehold houses
- leasehold flats are charged more than a peppercorn (nominal) ground rent
- provision of funding would not meet UK subsidy control rules established under the Subsidy Control Act 2022
How the fund works
We’ll work with you to consider your project’s needs and agree the most appropriate delivery solution. This may include grant, loan or partnership equity, or a combination of these options. Homes England may also use the fund to directly acquire and de-risk land for development.
We aim to maximise value for money and, where appropriate and dependent on viability, we’ll consider repayment or profit-share mechanisms, or a combination of both.
Through due diligence, we reserve the right to offer support through one of our other programmes, such as the Home Building Fund Infrastructure Loans, if we determine it’s a more appropriate fit.
All our loan and equity lending needs appropriate security, and loans are typically secured against property assets.
Funding routes
There are 2 routes to access funding:
- you can submit project proposals on a continuous market engagement (CME) basis
- Homes England can directly develop the pipeline of proposals (including major projects), acting more strategically
Continuous market engagement route
You can propose projects on an ongoing basis, as they are ready. We’ll consider proposals on their own individual merit until we’ve committed all the funding.
Strategic route
Homes England will undertake strategically focused activity to develop a pipeline of projects in focused sustainable housing and regeneration delivery – this is at the core of our work with Strategic Place Partnerships (SPPs) and other larger-scale, place-based delivery.
How we prioritise applications
The Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land Fund reflects wider government priorities and Homes England’s strategic objectives. We’ll assess, prioritise and approve projects based on the following criteria:
- support for areas with the greatest potential for economic growth or with the greatest affordability pressures
- best value for money for the taxpayer
- greatest potential for early delivery
- scale of development
- alignment with the following policy priorities:
- brownfield development
- unlocking economic growth (through provision or regeneration of, or supporting connection to, social amenities)
- maximising private-sector investment
- design quality, beauty, sustainability and carbon reduction
- diversification and innovation in the housing market
- alignment to local housing and infrastructure needs
If the eligibility criteria change
The eligibility criteria may be updated from time to time to reflect government priorities. Should these criteria change, we would not be obliged to consult with you about them.
Investment decisions
Any investment decision we make under the fund may be changed or withdrawn by us until we have completed due diligence and signed agreements with you. We advise you not to make business decisions assuming your application will be successful – you should wait until we have signed agreements with you.
Homes England has responsibility for managing the fund and our lending decisions are final.
How contact us
Contact us online through our enquiry form, or by email, phone or post.
Contact us by email
fundingenquiries@homesengland.gov.uk
Contact us by phone
Telephone: 0300 1234 500
Contact us by post
Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land Fund
Homes England
Windsor House
42 to 50 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0TL
Related information
‘Know your customer’ guidance
Updates to this page
Published 24 July 2023Last updated 5 June 2024 + show all updates
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Updated criteria to account for the commissioning of the London BIL programme.
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Amended 'What the fund supports' section to clarify eligible activity, which does not include site development. Also amended 'How the fund works' section to clarify activities Homes England may use the fund to directly undertake.
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First published.