New Homes Bonus – funding figures go live

Wychavon have published details of the 2011 New Homes Bonus allocations on this website.

The Government introduced the bonus in April 2011. It aims to pass the economic benefits of housing growth to the councils and communities where that growth takes place. For every new home built and occupied, Wychavon will receive six years of New Homes Bonus grant from the Government.

For new or empty homes occupied between 1 October 2010 and 30 September 2011, the Government is allocating an annual payment of £437,941 for six years. In Wychavon 40% of this is being allocated to be spent in communities where the new development has taken place.

Wychavon is inviting parish and town councils to submit proposals for spending any money allocated to their area.

Cllr. Paul Middlebrough, Leader of Wychavon said “Many councils nationally will just take this money to prop up their finances, however at Wychavon we think this money should be used to benefit the community in a wider sense. This is why we’re allocating it to those areas where development has taken place. We continue to be recognised as best practice for the approach we’ve taken and I hope that this additional funding will be of great benefit to our local communities. I’d encourage residents in areas with allocations to speak to their parish and town councils if they have an idea for how the funding can be spent.”

Examples of the sorts of things the money could fund are: village hall improvements, flood protection schemes, play areas, setting up youth clubs, community transport schemes, bus or car parking subsidies, community orchards, allotments and community energy schemes – but anything that benefits local communities will be considered.

People can check on this website to find out whether we have allocated their area any at www.wychavon.gov.uk/newhomesbonus