Isle of Wight Council win second round Brownfield Land Release Funds

The Isle of Wight Council has been awarded £426,000 in funding from the second round of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ (DLUHC) Brownfield Land Release Fund.  

The funding will be used to carry out infrastructure works to the council-owned sites prior to them being sold for housing.  The sites are located at Medina Avenue and New Street in Newport and Lowtherville in Ventnor. This latest secured funding demonstrates the council’s commitment to supporting the delivery of affordable housing on the Island.

Since 2017, One Public Estate has partnered with DLUHC to deliver the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) and the Land Release Fund (LRF), a programme which enables councils to bring forward surplus land for new homes.

At the Spending Review in 2021, the minister announced a £1.8 billion package of investment to regenerate communities and level-up the country, unlocking new homes on derelict and underused brownfield land. As part of this, up to £180 million Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF2) capital grant funding has been made available to all English councils over a three-year period to support the release of council-owned brownfield land for housing.

Councillor Ian Stephens, deputy leader and Cabinet member for Housing and Finance, said: “We welcome the announcement of more funding for Brownfield sites across the UK this week.

The Isle of Wight Council is committed to prioritising opportunities that deliver affordable housing on the island and this successful bid will help us in that endeavour.”