Tories borrow £2bn to accelerate housebuilding

The government has unveiled plans to borrow an extra £2bn to “accelerate” construction of tens of thousands of new homes.

In a clear departure from Cameron and Osborne’s austerity policies, chancellor Philip Hammond told the Conservative party conference later today that he is ready to borrow to help construct homes.

The £2bn of new public borrowing will fund an Accelerated Construction Scheme to make public land with planning permission available to builders.

The cash injection comes alongside a £3bn home building fund using previously-announced cash to provide loans to builders.

Under the new funding, the government will incentivise builders to use more modern building techniques with the aim of delivering units twice as quickly.

Rules will also be introduced to make it easier for developers to demolish offices and replace them with housing, and to give planning approval in principle to sites identified on brownfield registers.

Hammond told the Conservative conference in Birmingham: “We’ll use all the tools at our disposal to accelerate housebuilding and ensure that over time, housing becomes more affordable.”