£7m New Homes Bonus to Help Broadband in Basingstoke and Deane UK

The Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has announced plans to invest up to £7 million from the central UK Government’s New Homes Bonus scheme to help support the building of new housing projects by funding the construction of new community facilities or better broadband connectivity.

So far £3 million has already been received for 2014-15 and the rest is expected to be allocated over a 6 year period. The money will go towards areas with the most development activity (i.e. for every new home built and occupied the Government offers the borough a grant) and is designed to aid the construction of related projects that cost over £25,000.

The funding can similarly only be used on projects that would have a significant and long-lasting impact upon the local community, such as to support to development of new broadband Internet access infrastructure or sports and community facilities.

Ranil Jayawardena, Deputy Leader Cllr, said:

“Thanks to careful budgeting, the council continues to provide the day-to-day services that residents rely on and has not had to use all of this funding to support its normal spending. We have listened to local residents and are investing in addressing the priorities of communities where new housing has been built.

We have decided to allocate the majority of the New Homes Bonus received to improving infrastructure, of which half will be spent through the Local Infrastructure Fund. We are keen for the communities that have provided more homes to get the funding they need to ensure that their local infrastructure isn’t overstretched. The fund means they can work with their local borough councillor to decide what would make the most difference in their area.”

The deadline for the first round of funding is Friday 31st January 2014 and the areas that have already attracted the most investment from the bonus include Rooksdown, Popley Fields and Sherfield on Loddon. Further details can be found here – http://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/go/infrastructurefund.

The deadline for the second round of applications will be Monday 31 March and the third round Friday 26 September 2014. After that, there will be two opportunities to submit applications per financial year, subject to the current council policy and available budget.