Plans to give housebuilding a shot in the arm will see one of the largest parts of Kent receive funding to build just 44 homes.

Thousands of new homes are set to be built as part of the new Labour government’s plans to kickstart economic growth and get “Britain building again”.

Nationally, up to £68 million has been set aside for 54 councils to clear buildings, former car parks and industrial land to make way for the homes.

But it’s since been revealed that only 44 homes are to be funded in Medway as part of the latest round of the government’s Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 (BLRF2).

The South East will see £16.2million of the total fund, but Medway, the largest conurbation in the area outside of London, will see only £640,000 with which it is expected to make enough land available for 44 homes.

The BLRF2 is available for local councils to apply for funding, a process which was undertaken last year, with applications closing in March 2023.

Medway Council says it bid for an £815,000 chunk of the funds for two projects - Upper Mount car park in Chatham and Hook Meadow in Walderslade.

The Upper Mount bid was for £472,000 to put in new retaining walls, utility connections and an accessible footpath so 26 affordable homes can be built.

The Hook Meadow application was for £343,000 to redevelop the library and community hub at Hook Meadow in addition to deliver 18 flats for affordable rent on the site.

The Upper Mount bid was fully funded, but only around half of the Hook Meadow bid - £172,000 - was approved.

The council have said it will have to re-evaluate the Hook Meadow plans based upon the lower than expected funding.

Cllr Louwella Prenter (Lab), Medway Council’s portfolio holder for housing and homelessness, welcomed the funding.

She said: “We are delighted to have secured this funding. In line with our ambitions set out in our One Medway Council Plan, this will enable us to unlock the development of much needed new affordable homes in Medway.”

The authority is considering responses to its consultation on its Local Plan, which partially decides where land will be allocated to meet the housing targets set by central government.

One of the three options for the Local Plan includes a primarily brownfield option, focusing on urban regeneration - while there is also a dispersed growth version, which looks at more rural areas, and a mixed option combining aspects of the two.

The authority currently has a goal of building 28,339 homes by 2040 - of which 7,583 homes were already in the pipeline and predicted 3,000 windfall sites in September last year.

This leaves the authority with around 19,000 yet to deliver in 16 years - however, because of falling behind on targets the the council has been hit with penalties and told to deliver more properties per year.

Additionally, the government is consulting on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and speculative numbers based upon the draft formula suggest the Towns’ targets may reduce slightly.

Elsewhere in Kent, Maidstone council is to receive almost £1.9million to clear brownfield land for 107 homes and Gravesham council has been allocated £1.6million for 83 homes.

The UK government has said it intends to prioritise brownfield sites in its ambition to increase housebuilding across the country.

Housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook MP (Lab) said: “The government is committed to a brownfield-first approach to housebuilding, and we have already taken steps to prioritise and fast-track building on previously used urban land.

“The funding announced will support the delivery of thousands of new homes and boost economic growth by unlocking development on scores of abandoned, disused and neglected urban sites across the country.”

The BLRF2 was initiated in July 2022, allocating £180million over three years for the preparation of brownfield sites - covering the cost of decontamination, clearing disused buildings or improving infrastructure such as internet, water and power.

This third round predicts it will make land available for the building of 5,200 homes across the country.

The largest projects to benefit from the scheme include £2.9million to Manchester City Council to help develop a vacant site to build 220 affordable homes and £1.7million to the town centre in Weston-Super-Mare for more than 100 homes to be built.