Housing and planning minister Yvette Cooper has outlined a major homebuilding investment package worth £500 million.

The government's plans to build 240,000 new homes a year has been met with scepticism by some groups, including housing interests and even a government-funded committee tasked with assessing its viability.

But Ms Cooper is standing by the target and says that the new cash injection will encourage local authorities to "raise their game".

"Families across the country need more affordable homes," the minister insisted. "We want to give more support to communities and councils who are doing their bit to deliver the extra homes we need."

The construction fund will reward councils who speed up housing supply delivery and will also incentivise the development of green homes that incorporate environmentally-beneficial features such as insulation.

Ms Cooper also revealed progress on identifying brownfield sites for development. She said that a further 200 disused public sector sites have now been identified as potential housing areas, bringing the total number to over 750.

Gordon Brown set a target this summer of building three million new homes by 2020 in order to offset the current shortfall in supply.

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Author:  Joanne McCabe

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