Crawley Borough Council has been awarded over £3.85million from the UK Government through the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF2) to assist in the building of around 270 new homes, with at least 150 of these destined to be affordable homes.

The funding, which is being delivered in partnership with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Local Government Association (LGA) and One Public Estate (OPE) programme, will meet the costs of preparing three brownfield sites for housing development – the old Town Hall, Longley House and Deerswood Court garages site.

This BLRF2 funding award was one of the largest in the UK and demonstrates the Government’s confidence in Crawley Borough Council to deliver these programmes and unlock land to build urgently needed new homes.

We are delighted that this funding bid has been successful. This BLRF2 funding helps unlock brownfield land for much needed affordable homes that have been delayed because of water neutrality. It will also enable us to allocate more of our own additional capital expenditure towards building council housing. It is a massive step forward for us and, particularly with the redevelopment of the old Town Hall, a major help in bringing forward further regeneration of the town centre.

Councillor Michael Jones

Leader

Crawley Borough Council

The preparation of the old Town Hall and Longley House sites for residential development gives us the chance to build high-quality new homes and reduce some of the pressure on our housing waiting list. The Deerswood Court garages site modular housing proposal will provide an improved parking solution for local residents, together with additional affordable housing.

Councillor Ian Irvine

Cabinet member for Housing

Crawley Borough Council

We are delighted that Crawley Borough Council have been successfully awarded Brownfield Land Release funding. This will enable them to unlock disused brownfield sites for the delivery of much needed new homes including affordable housing. The grant funding demonstrates the strength of the West Sussex One Public Estate Partnership and also shows how it is delivering concrete benefits for the people in Crawley.

Councillor Paul Marshall

Leader

West Sussex County Council

It is expected that the council will be in contract for the demolition works by the end of March 2025 and in contract for the three residential developments by no later than the end of March 2028.

The £68m BLRF2 fund has been awarded across 54 councils, with Crawley Borough Council’s allocation representing 5.6% of this BLRF2 bidding round.