£4.5m funding will help unlock housing

Northumberland County Council has welcomed the announcement of £4.5million of funding from the Housing Infrastructure Fund.
An aerial view of the former St Georges Hospital site in Morpeth.An aerial view of the former St Georges Hospital site in Morpeth.
An aerial view of the former St Georges Hospital site in Morpeth.

The funding is for the early construction of a link road and utilities that will unlock the final element of a key strategic housing site to the north of Morpeth, part of the wider St George’s Hospital site.

The scheme is part of a wider council strategy that seeks to deliver residential growth supported by investment in infrastructure.

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In Morpeth, this approach has secured the delivery of the Northern Bypass, a strategic sewer connection and this link road which will enable residential development to come forward and also support the delivery of an Enterprise Zone for employment.

By also providing access to King Edward VI School from the north, the road will have the potential to reduce congestion in the town.

The national £5billion Housing Infrastructure Fund is a government capital-grant programme aimed at helping to unlock new homes and is awarded to local authorities on a competitive basis to fund key local infrastructure projects essential ahead of building the homes.

Council leader Peter Jacksonsaid: “This announcement is great news for Morpeth and Northumberland – allowing housing schemes to go ahead that have been hamstrung by the high costs of infrastructure.

“Once the Morpeth scheme is complete the funding will also be recycled and used to enable further housing and infrastructure developments in Northumberland.”