A pilot scheme to unblock infrastructure delays on housing developments has been launched by the government.
The Housing & Finance Institute (HFI) will lead the scheme, which will bring together a water company, a developer, councils and a housing association to identify and solve infrastructure problems that are delaying housebuilding.
The pilot scheme is being carried out in the South East with the help of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, the Home Builders Federation, Laing O’Rourke, Anglian Water, Kent County Council, Essex County Council, Keepmoat, the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The government announced a £2.3bn fund to invest in infrastructure to speed up housebuilding. However, HFI will not receive part of this fund for the pilot.
The scheme will focus on housing developments that have been delayed due to a lack of water, sewage, electricity, gas or road connectivity. If successful, the plan is to roll the scheme out across the UK in 2017.
The pilot will run until May, with an initial report due by the end of January.
The findings will be reported to housing minister Gavin Barwell and the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure, Conservative MP Stephen Hammond.