Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF1) April 2021 (applications now closed)

Applications for this round of funding has now closed. Visit our One Public Estate page for information on latest funding programmes.

One Public Estate (OPE) is a partnership between the Office of Government Property in the Cabinet Office (OGP), the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Our joint aim is to bring public sector bodies together, to create better places by using public assets more efficiently, creating service and financial benefits for partners and releasing land for housing and development. 

As a well-established national programme, OPE works with 72 existing local public sector partnerships, covering combined authority, sub-regional and local authority areas.    

Since 2017, we have supported the delivery of MHCLG’s Land Release Fund (LRF), a programme which enables local authorities to bring forward surplus land for housing development.

At Spending Review 2020 the Chancellor announced the National Home Building Fund (NHBF). The primary objective of the NHBF will be to support the Government's ambition to deliver 300,000 homes per annum by unlocking housing supply in areas of greatest need. Further details on other elements of the NHBF will be published in due course.

Part of the National Home Building Fund is the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF), which will support local authorities to bring forward brownfield sites for housing development and self and custom-build serviced plots. The BLRF is open to local authorities across England, other than those Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) areas that have had the opportunity to receive funding under the £400 million Brownfield Fund. The application window for this round of funding has now closed.

To find out more about LRF projects, including case studies of successful projects, visit our One Public Estate webpage.

Applications for this round of funding has now closed

Brownfield Land Release Fund

The delivery of new homes across England is a national priority for central government. Local government is equally committed to supporting housing development. Local authorities have established more than 150 housing development companies, demonstrating that local government is taking an increasingly hands-on role in developing their local area.

Since 2017, OPE has partnered with MHCLG to deliver the Land Release Fund (LRF). The LRF has accelerated the release of local authority-owned land for housing to help increase the public sector contribution to land supply and innovation in housebuilding. The LRF currently supports 69 local authority projects which are on track to release land for more than 6,000 homes. Successful projects from a second application round are due to be announced shortly.

The LRF is a unique programme. It targets small sites where viability issues have prevented the release of local authority-owned land for housing delivery. Previous rounds have shown LRF-funded projects can deliver at pace by bridging viability gaps to accelerate the release of land for housing.

The BLRF will support the release of local authority-owned brownfield land for housing, and in addition, the fund will also seek to support self and custom-build projects on both brownfield and greenfield sites.

The BLRF is offering up to £75 million of capital grant funding to unlock and accelerate the release of these sites. Of this, £25 million will be allocated for self and custom-build projects that meet the gateway criteria set out below.

All English local authorities are eligible to apply, with the exception of the seven Mayoral Combined Authorities and their constituent lower tier authorities that have already had the opportunity to receive funding under the £400 million Brownfield Fund. (Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, North of Tyne, Sheffield City Region, Tees Valley, West Midlands and West Yorkshire).

The aims of the Brownfield Land Release Fund are to:

• release local authority owned land by the end of March 2024 for housing development that otherwise would not come forward during that period
  
   
• encourage the use of public assets to drive innovative delivery, through SME support, bespoke delivery models, high-quality design and modern methods of construction
  
   
• demonstrate a return for Government investment into these small sites
  
   
• enable schemes to deliver within the funding timescale.

We expect this funding to be attractive to sites typically accommodating up to 250 homes, but larger sites may be considered by exception. The funding will provide upfront capital to address viability issues arising from abnormal costs of the proposed development. The types of abnormal costs requiring funding may include:

• site levelling, groundworks, demolition
• provision of small-scale infrastructure
• highways works or other access challenges
• addressing environmental constraints.

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.   

Self and custom-build

The housing market is dominated by a small number of volume builders and to reach the ambition of delivering 300,000 additional homes per year we must maximise delivery across new and existing sub-sectors, catalysing new tenures and giving consumers greater choice over housing products.

Self and custom-build housing harnesses the power and initiative of individuals to instigate building projects giving them control over the look and feel of their home. Often utilising small sites of little interest to major builders, the sector brings forward housing projects delivered through SMEs and specialist builders, helping to build a more diverse and resilient housebuilding sector, and improving the design and quality of homes as they are built by the people who will live in them.

The Government is committed to increasing the number of self and custom-build homes in this country and to establish this route as a mainstream option for people to access housing or move home.  A key challenge for self and custom builders is the lack of supply of serviced plots. There are often competing priorities for the use of the land and a lack of available capital and revenue funding to bring them forward which can cause demand to outstrip supply. The Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act (as amended 2016), known as the Right to Build, places a duty on local authorities to support the provision of serviced plots, requiring them to hold a register of people who want to self and custom-build in their area and permission sufficient serviced plots to meet demand within 3 years. The BLRF self and custom-build funding provides support to councils to bring forward serviced self and custom-build plots on their own land.

£25 million of the BLRF fund will be allocated for self and custom-build projects.

We will consider applications for self and custom-build schemes on both brownfield and greenfield sites.

The aims of supporting self and custom-build are to:

• release local authority owned land by end March 2024 for housing development that otherwise would not come forward during that period. Release of land for self and custom-build plots is the point at which disposal of the first plot takes place.
  
   
• provide replicable exemplars for delivery of serviced plots for self and custom-build housing on local authority land and stimulate wider delivery of serviced plots 
  
   
• demonstrate a return for Government investment into these small sites
  
   
• be confident these schemes will deliver within the funding timescale.

Funding should address viability issues and market failure in bringing forward serviced plots. The types of costs requiring funding may include:

• site levelling, groundworks
• provision of small-scale infrastructure
• highways works or other access challenges
• addressing environmental constraints
• providing services to the plots

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.   

Assessment of applications

BLRF is open to local authorities across England, other than those in Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) areas that had the opportunity to receive funding under the £400 million Brownfield Fund.

Applications should be coordinated by the OPE Partnership and submitted via the designated accountable body of the local OPE programme. We welcome concise, clearly-structured, and well-referenced proposals.

Our assessment will be based on the material provided within the application template, basic details form and technical annex which contain further guidance. We also encourage applicants to review the FAQs provided, where further information and definitions can be found.

All applications will be jointly assessed by Cabinet Office, the LGA and MHCLG on a competitive basis. Self and custom-build projects will be assessed separately.

Applications will be evaluated by applying the following criteria:

1. Gateway criteria

We will only consider projects which pass our gateway criteria.

2. Full assessment against LRF/SCB criteria

Applications will then be assessed against the full LRF/SCB criteria as below.

3. Ranking

Once the applications have been assessed and scored against the assessment criteria, they will be ranked competitively.

BLRF reserve list

Because the BLRF is a finite pot of funding, only the top-scoring applications up to a maximum allocation of £75 million will be offered funding.  However, a ‘reserve list’ of any remaining applications which successfully met the allocation criteria but were unable to be funded in the initial allocation will be maintained.

If a successful application is later unable to proceed, the funding notionally allocated to that project will be released and offered to the first highest-scoring application(s) on the reserve list.  The actual amount offered will be subject to the amount of funding available at that time.

Brownfield Land Release Fund

1. Brownfield LRF gateway criteria

Applications will only be considered if the following ‘gateway’ criteria are satisfied:

• the land to which the application relates is brownfield land, fully owned by the local authority. For schemes of mixed land ownership funding would only be available to support work that delivers local authority land release
• the project must be undertaking capital works on local authority-owned land only
• funding must enable the release of the land for housing by end March 2024 or earlier, and must address market failure
• the works for which funding is sought are deliverable and within a timeframe that will enable the land to be released in time
• A threshold of 1.5 for Benefits Cost Ratio (BCR) + non-monetised benefits must be reached to proceed further
  
  
  
  - The project must provide a BCR of 1.0 or higher. The BCR is calculated using the LRF Technical Annex.
  
  
  
  - Where the BCR is 1.5 or greater, a project will have achieved the gateway criteria
  
  
  
  - Where the BCR is between 1.0-1.5, non-monetised benefits will also be considered as part of the gateway assessment.
  
  
  
  - An assessment of non-monetised benefits (with evidence of the scale of the benefit(s)) should be included for all projects as the non-monetised benefits score will form part of the project’s overall score
  
  
  
  - All non-monetised benefits will be scored and a maximum of 0.5 can be added to the project BCR

    - BCR + non-monetised benefits will be assessed following the principles set out in the Green Book and the DCLG Appraisal Guide, 2016.

• Sufficient evidence in support of these assertions must form part of the application
  
   
• The applicant is not one of the seven Mayoral Combined Authorities or constituent lower tier authorities that have had opportunity to receive funding under the £400m Brownfield Fund.

Land is released when:

a) an unconditional contract, development agreement or building licence with a private sector partner is signed or freehold transfer takes place (whichever is sooner)

b) it has transferred to a development vehicle owned, or partly owned, by the local authority, this could be a local authority wholly owned housing delivery vehicle or a public–private joint venture

c) if (A) or (B) have not happened, the point at which development begins on site.

2. Value for money assessment

The value for money assessment will carry 40% of the overall weighting by which applications will be ranked. This will take into account benefit cost ratio, non-monetised benefits and gross value added per hour worked.

Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) + non-monetised benefits - 30%

Evidence must be provided to demonstrate that applications represent good value for money on the basis of an economic appraisal and an assessment of non-monetised benefits, following the principles set out in the Green Book (as amended November 2020) and the DCLG Appraisal Guide, 2016. These two elements are described below.

Economic Appraisal Part 1: Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR)

Part 1 of the economic appraisal will be based on the present value economic benefits of a scheme divided by its present value costs to government. This will generate a benefit cost ratio.

a) Economic benefits

The BLRF is targeted at releasing local authority-owned brownfield land suitable for housing development. The economic benefits of releasing this land will be quantified using land value uplift, which represents the economic benefits of converting land to a more productive use. Land value uplift is calculated by the difference between the value of the land in its new use, minus the value in its previous use. A BLRF Technical Annex has been published alongside the prospectus to be completed as part of the application.

b) The total land value uplift on a site will provide the gross economic benefit. It will then be necessary to estimate how much of this economic benefit is additional; that is, how much development would have occurred in the absence of the intervention. Therefore your application should include:

• demonstration of clear site-specific market failure, including, where relevant, evidence that the works would not have been undertaken by the private sector
• evidence that releasing land for residential development on the site will not displace activity elsewhere, for example due to:
  
  
  
  - market displacement – increases in housing supply that will be off-set by reduced supply elsewhere in the same housing market, due to a limit on the level of private supply that the market can support
  
  
  
  - local plan substitution – increases in land allocated for housing that will result in reductions in allocated land elsewhere in the same local authority.

c) Costs

In appraising costs, we will only take into account any pre-development costs to central government. This will reflect both spending through the BLRF, and any other funding that has been received from central government. This will not reflect the local authority’s own investment. All costs and benefits will be discounted at the standard rate of 3.5 % p.a.

Economic Appraisal Part 2: Non-monetised benefits

Part 2 of the economic appraisal will be based on the non-monetised benefits that can be attributed to the scheme. Non-monetised benefits are economic benefits that have not been monetised in Part 1 of the economic appraisal (BCR) because it was either not possible or was not considered proportionate to do so. Examples of non-monetised benefits include visual amenity benefits from developing a brownfield site, where there is evidence of benefit to existing households in the area, and benefits from the provision from affordable housing, which are additional to the benefits of new housing supply captured through land value uplift. Non-monetised benefits should not double-count those which have been included in the BCR, i.e. land value uplift.

Applicants should consider the non-monetised benefits that the project will deliver and must ensure they are compliant with HMT Green Book methodology (as amended November 2020).

Non-monetised benefits should be described as clearly as possible within the application; the assessment will focus upon the impact of the non-monetised benefits, their scale, and evidence to support this.

All applicants should set out the non-monetised benefits that their project will deliver, showing how they will contribute to the Value for Money score of the project. Please refer to the FAQs for an example of a non-monetised benefit and further information on what is expected from applicants.

Gross value added (GVA) per hour worked- 10%

GVA per hour worked is a measure of average productivity of an area and supplements the assessment of value for money using BCR and non-monetised benefits. Regions will be ranked by GVA and will be awarded higher scores if they have a lower GVA and lower scores if they have a higher GVA as part of the assessment. For information, the GVA per hour worked for the project, based on the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS2) region the local authority selected lies within, is produced within the technical annex.

Applicants are not required to provide any further detail.

3. Strategic case

The strategic case carries 30% of the overall weighting which will be assessed against the opportunity and links to local and national government priorities.

Priority will be given to applications that align with the Government’s ambition to level up and the degree to which projects will support deprived areas of the country. We also expect to see the degree to which projects will: support economic recovery; provide skills and apprenticeships opportunities; commit to local employment and reduce unemployment; commit to local suppliers; and meet a particular need e.g. key worker or affordable housing, a mix of tenures, for older people, or schemes that will benefit ex-service personnel, homeless or ex-offenders.

4. Deliverability assessment

The deliverability assessment carries 20% of the overall weighting. Funding must enable the release of land for housing before the end of March 2024. Proposals will be assessed based on the assurance of deliverability which has been provided within the application template. 

We expect to see a detailed project plan identifying key milestones, alongside a clear forecast of outputs.

You may also wish to consider providing supporting evidence including:

• a development appraisal produced by an appropriately qualified professional (external or in-house) demonstrating the viability gap on the site
• evidence of costed works proposed to be covered by BLRF grant funding, by an appropriately qualified professional/external professional body.

Our assessment will also consider risk. We expect to see a detailed assessment of key risks associated with the project with appropriate mitigations alongside risk management processes.

5. Innovation assessment

The innovation assessment carries 5% of the overall weighting.  Projects will be assessed based on innovative models of delivery. Within this, all projects should explain how they will maximise the use of SMEs in order to help demonstrate positive local economic impact. Other areas of innovation could include:

• proposals to take forward development at pace
• proposals to work with private developers who are taking forward modern methods of construction/innovative design
• a commitment to net-zero carbon opportunities
• joint ventures
• a commitment to net-zero carbon opportunities
• joining-up across local authority boundaries.

6. Public sector equality duty

This carries 5% of the overall weighting. Schemes which highlight a positive impact for people who share one or more protected characteristics (as defined in the Equality Act 2010) in the local area who struggle to attain appropriate housing will be given a 5% increase to their overall score. Examples of a positive impact could include:

• proposals to bring forward development in areas where those share one or more protected characteristics have disproportionately low home ownership
• proposals in areas where those share one or more protected characteristics suffer disproportionately from overcrowding.

Self and custom-build

1. Self and custom-build Gateway Criteria

Applications will only be considered if the following ‘gateway’ criteria are satisfied:

• The land to which the application relates must be fully owned by the local authority. For schemes of mixed land ownership, funding would only be available to support work that delivers local authority land release. The land can be both brownfield and greenfield land
• The project must be undertaking capital works on local authority-owned land only
• funding must enable the sale of the first self and custom-build plot for housing by end March 2024 or earlier, and must address market failure
• the works for which funding is sought are deliverable and within a timeframe that will enable the land to be released by March 2024.
• A threshold of 1.5 for Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) + non-monetised must be reached to proceed further.
  
  
  
  o The project must provide a BCR of 1.0 or higher. The BCR is calculated using the LRF Technical Annex
  
  
  
  o Where the BCR is 1.5 or greater, a project will have met the gateway criteria
  
  
  
  o Where the BCR is between 1.0-1.5, non-monetised benefits will also be considered as part of the gateway assessment.
  
  
  
  o An assessment of non-monetised benefits (with evidence of the scale of the benefit(s)) should be included for all projects as the non-monetised benefits score will form part of the project's overall score
  
  
  
  o All non-monetised benefits will be scored and a maximum of 0.5 can be added to the project BCR
  
  
  
  o BCR + non-monetised benefits will be assessed following the principles set out in the Green Book (as amended November 2020) and the DCLG Appraisal Guide, 2016.
• sufficient evidence in support of these assertions must form part of the application
• the applicant is not one of the seven Mayoral Combined Authorities or constituent lower tier authorities that have had the opportunity to receive funding under the £400m Brownfield Fund.

2. Value for money assessment

The value for money assessment will carry 40% of the overall weighting by which applications will be ranked. This will take into account benefit cost ratio, non-monetised benefits and gross value added per hour worked.

Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) + non-monetised benefits - 30%

Evidence must be given that applications represent good value for money on the basis of an economic appraisal and an assessment of non-monetised benefits, following the principles set out in the Green Book (as amended November 2020) and the DCLG Appraisal Guide, 2016. These two elements are described below.

Economic Appraisal Part 1: Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR)

Part 1 of the economic appraisal will be based on the present value economic benefits of a scheme divided by its present value costs to government. This will generate a benefit cost ratio.

a) Economic benefits

The fund is targeted at releasing local authority-owned land that is suitable for housing development. The economic benefits of releasing this land will be quantified using land value uplift, which represents the economic benefits of converting land to a more productive use. Land value uplift is calculated by the difference between the value of the land in its new use, minus the value in its previous use. A BLRF Technical Annex has been published alongside the prospectus to be completed as part of the application.



b) The total land value uplift on a site will provide the gross economic benefit. It will then be necessary to estimate how much of this economic benefit is additional; that is, how much development would have occurred in the absence of the intervention. Therefore your application should include: Demonstration of clear site-specific market failure, including, where relevant, evidence that the works would not have been undertaken by the private sector Evidence that releasing land for residential development on the site will not displace activity elsewhere, for example due to:



- Market displacement – increases in housing supply that will be off-set by reduced supply elsewhere in the same housing market, due to a limit on the level of private supply that the market can support



- Local plan substitution - increases in land allocated for housing that will result in reductions in allocated land elsewhere in the same local authority.



c) Costs

In appraising costs, we will only take into account any pre-development costs to central government. This will reflect both spending through the BLRF, and any other funding that has been received from central government. This will not reflect any money spent or recovered by the local authority. All costs and benefits will be discounted at the standard rate of 3.5 % p.a.



Economic Appraisal Part 2: Non-monetised benefits

Part 2 of the economic appraisal will be based on the non-monetised benefits that can be attributed to the scheme. Non-monetised benefits are economic benefits that have not been monetised in Part 1 of the economic appraisal (BCR) because it was either not possible or was not considered proportionate to do so. Examples of non-monetised benefits include visual amenity benefits from developing a brownfield site, where there is evidence of benefit to existing households in the area, and benefits from the provision from affordable housing, which are additional to the benefits of new housing supply captured through land value uplift. Non-monetised benefits should not double-count those which have been included in the BCR, i.e. land value uplift.

Applicants should consider the non-monetised benefits that the project will deliver and must ensure they are compliant with HMT Green Book methodology (as amended November 2020).

Non-monetised benefits should be described as clearly as possible within the application; the assessment will focus upon the impact of the non-monetised benefits, their scale, and evidence to support this.

All applicants should set out the non-monetised benefits that their project will deliver, showing how they will contribute to the Value for Money score of the project. Please refer to the FAQs for an example of a non-monetised benefit and further information on what is expected from applicants.

Gross value added (GVA) - 10%

GVA per hour worked is a measure of average productivity of an area and supplements the assessment of value for money using BCR and non-monetised benefits. Regions will be ranked by GVA and will be awarded higher scores if they have a lower GVA and lower scores if they have a higher GVA as part of the assessment. The GVA per hour worked for the project, based on the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS2) region the local authority selected falls into, is produced within the technical annex.

Applicants are not required to provide any further detail.

3. Strategic case

The strategic case carries 30% of the overall weighting which will be assessed against the opportunity and links to local and national government priorities.

Priority will be given to applications that align with the Government’s ambition to level up and the degree to which projects will support deprived areas of the country. We also expect to see the degree to which projects will: support economic recovery; provide skills and apprenticeships opportunities; commit to local employment and reduce unemployment; commit to local suppliers; and meet a particular need e.g. key worker or affordable housing, a mix of tenures, for older people, or schemes that will benefit ex-service personnel, homeless or ex-offenders.

Applications will also be assessed as to whether the projects may be promoted as exemplars, showcasing self and custom-build as a deliverable option in a range of settings - including rural and urban, and high / low density; sharing learning and experiences with other authorities to encourage understanding in delivery of self and custom-build.

4. Deliverability assessment

The deliverability assessment carries 20% of the overall weighting. Funding must enable the sale of the first plot for housing before the end of March 2024. Proposals will be assessed based on the assurance of deliverability which has been provided within the application template. 

We expect to see a detailed project plan identifying key milestones, alongside a clear forecast of outputs. Local authorities that can demonstrate a strong track record of delivery will score more highly.

You may also wish to consider providing supporting evidence including:

• A development appraisal produced by an appropriately qualified professional (external or in-house) demonstrating the viability gap on the site
• Evidence of costed works proposed to be covered by grant funding, by an appropriately qualified professional/external professional body.

Our assessment will also consider risk. We expect to see a detailed assessment of risks associated with the project with appropriate mitigations alongside risk management processes. A development appraisal produced by an appropriately qualified professional (external or in-house) demonstrating the viability gap on the site Evidence of costed works proposed to be covered by grant funding, by an appropriately qualified professional/external professional body.

5. Innovation assessment

The innovation assessment carries 5% of the overall weighting. Projects will be assessed based on innovative models of delivery. Within this, all projects should explain how they will maximise the use of SMEs in order to help demonstrate positive local economic impact.  Other areas of innovation could include:

• Proposals to take forward development at pace
• Proposals for development to be taken forward by small and medium enterprises
• Proposals to work with private developers who are taking forward modern methods of construction/innovative design
• A commitment to net-zero carbon opportunities
• Joint ventures
• Joining-up across local authority boundaries
• Adoption of design policies, design codes

6. Public sector equality duty

This carries 5% of the overall weighting. Schemes which highlight a positive impact for people who share one or more protected characteristics (as defined in the Equality Act 2010) in the local area who struggle to attain appropriate housing will be given a 5% increase to their overall score. Examples of a positive impact could include:

• proposals to bring forward development in areas where those share one or more protected characteristics have disproportionately low home ownership
• proposals in areas where those share one or more protected characteristics suffer disproportionately from overcrowding.

Applications for this round of funding have now closed. 

All applications should be co-ordinated by the OPE partnership and submitted by the accountable body for the partnership. We welcome concise, clearly structured and well-referenced proposals. Please complete the application template, basic details form and technical annex fully, alongside any other essential supporting documents. Please refer to the FAQs for what will be accepted.

For further advice and guidance on how to structure your application, please contact your regional team.

Applications should be submitted to the One Public Estate team via email [email protected] by 23:59 on 2 June 2021.

Late applications, either in part or full applications, will not be accepted.

Pre-selection criteria

For any application to be considered, the partnership must state how it has met, or will meet, all of these pre-selection criteria:

• Operate an effective OPE partnership board
• Regularly update all land and property assets (except social housing stock) owned by partnership authorities and public sector partners on the ePIMS Lite system (or its successor)
• Provide information and data on potential future pipeline of local authority land release for housing from partner members
• Agree to adhere to reporting arrangements which provide data on project progress and benefits delivery updates
• Include the applicant local authority’s S151 officer or chief executive’s sign-off in your application

DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION TEMPLATE

DOWNLOAD THE BASIC DETAILS FORM

DOWNLOAD THE TECHNICAL ANNEX

Timeline

The application timetable is as follows:

Application window opens: 19 April 2021

Final deadline for applications: 2 June 2021

Decision on final applications and announcement of funding awards: Summer 2021

If successful, applicants will receive funding offers and will be invited to complete a Conditions of Funding letter detailing the funding award and delivery arrangements for funded projects.

Further guidance and support on applications is available from your OPE regional team.

Applications for this round of funding has now closed

What should I do if I need guidance with my application?

You should contact your Regional Programme Managers before the deadline for any assistance, or you can contact the OPE team at [email protected]

Can I apply if I am not part of an OPE partnership?

No, we expect applications to be coordinated via an OPE partnership. If you are not already part of an existing OPE partnership, please contact the Regional Programme Managers.

Who is eligible to apply for BLRF?

BLRF is open to local authorities across England, apart from those in Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) areas that had the opportunity to benefit from the £400 million Brownfield Housing Fund.

Which MCA’s are not eligible for BLRF funding?

Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, North of Tyne, Sheffield City Region, Tees Valley, West Midlands and West Yorkshire, and their constituent lower tier authorities who have already had the opportunity to benefit from the £400m Brownfield Fund.

Can a project apply for BLRF & SCB?

Yes, assuming all other criteria are satisfied. It is advisable to target the most appropriate funding stream. It is recognised that S&CB may be part of a wider scheme. Where the request for funding is for both BLRF and S&CB as part of the same scheme, applicants should select this scheme type in the technical annex and the basic details form.

Where do I state that I have met the pre-selection criteria?

This is within the basic details form, on the application checklist tab. Applications should be co-ordinated by the OPE partnership and submitted by the accountable body for the partnership who should state how the partnership has met or will meet the pre selection criteria.

Each project should be signed by the applicant local authority’s S151 officer or chief executive on the application template. 

What must my application contain?

You must complete an application template and a technical annex for each project, and a basic details form detailing all projects which the partnership submits.

Can I submit extra documentation to support my application?

Supporting information should be provided to evidence market failure and additionality scores applied in the technical annex, and evidence of non-monetised benefits.

What is the definition of ‘Land Release’?

Land is counted as released as follows:

a) An unconditional contract, development agreement or building licence with a delivery partner is signed or freehold or leasehold transfer takes place (whichever is sooner)



b) It has transferred to a development vehicle owned, or partly owned by the local authority, this could be a local authority wholly owned housing delivery vehicle or a public–private joint venture



c) If (a) or (b) have not happened, the point at which development begins on site



d) In the case of self and custom-build, if none of the above applies, when contracts are exchanged on the first plot.

Homes England defines start on site as an excavation for strip or trench foundations or for pad footings, digging out and preparation of ground for raft foundations, vibrofication, piling, boring for piling or pile driving or drainage works specific to the scheme.

How should land released for housing be quantified?

Land released with capacity for housing should be quantified in homes.  The following categories of homes can apply:

• A market home
• An affordable or starter home
• A self or custom-built home
• Rental accommodation
• Student accommodation (to note, 4 student units equates to 1 home)
• Key worker accommodation (including health and military service personnel and family accommodation provided this adds to net housing supply)
• An Annington home previously leased to the Ministry of Defence and sold to the market
• Retirement/care apartments (which count as dwellings/homes)
• A care home (to note, 4 rooms is equivalent to 1 home)

Is there a limit on the amount of funding I can apply for per unit?

There is no limit on the intervention level, but the process is competitive and there must be a justification for the level of funding sought.

What qualifies as brownfield land?

The definition of previously developed (brownfield) land in NPPF 2020 is “Land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure including the curtilage of the developed land (although it should not be assumed that the whole curtilage should be developed) and any associated fixed surface infrastructure. This excludes: land that is or was last occupied by agricultural or forestry buildings: land that has been developed for minerals extraction or waste disposal by landfill, where provision for restoration has been made through development management procedures; land in built-up areas such as residential gardens, parks, recreation grounds and allotments; and land that was previously developed but where remains of the permanent structure or fixed surface structure have blended into the landscape”.

Is greenfield land eligible for BLRF funding?

Only for self and custom-build projects.

Would a portfolio of small sites be eligible for BLRF funding?

No. Only single site applications are eligible. You may submit separate applications for small sites.

Is a scheme still eligible if it already has other funding?

In appraising costs, we will only take into account any pre-development costs to central government. This will reflect both spending through the LRF, and any other funding that has been received from central government. This will not reflect any money spent or recovered by the council. All costs and benefits will be discounted at the standard rate of 3.5 % p.a.

Is there any restriction/priority on the types of housing (e.g. extra care, student accommodation)?

There are no restrictions. Relevant ratios for housing tenures should be used.

Are building works eligible?

Yes, if demolition or related to abnormal costs (asbestos removal).

Does BLRF only apply to land, or could it be used on a site where buildings already exist & may need demolition or re-purposing?

Both are eligible.

Who is eligible to apply for BLRF?

BLRF is open to local authorities across England, apart from those in Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) areas that had the opportunity to benefit from the £400 million Brownfield Housing Fund.

Can community-led housing groups take on the development delivery role?

Yes, if the land is in local authority ownership and there are upfront capital costs required to release the land; the land release point would be the transfer to the developer.

How do you demonstrate public sector equality?

Schemes which highlight a positive impact for people with protected characteristics (as defined in the Equality Act 2010) in the local area who struggle to attain appropriate housing will be given a 5% increase to their overall score. Examples of a positive impact could include:

• proposals to bring forward development in areas where those with protected characteristics have disproportionately low home ownership
• proposals in areas where those with protected characteristics suffer disproportionately from overcrowding

What is the minimum BCR a project must achieve for BLRF?

The project must achieve a minimum BCR + non-monetised benefit of 1.5:

• the project must provide a BCR of 1.0 or higher. The BCR is calculated using the BLRF Technical Annex
• all projects can add up to 0.5 to this score by demonstrating impact and evidence of non-monetised benefits in their application
• where the BCR is between 1.0-1.5, non-monetised benefits will be considered as part of the gateway assessment. A maximum of 0.5 for non-monetised benefits will be added to the BCR and a threshold of 1.5 for BCR + non-monetised must be reached to proceed further

BCR is a Benefits Cost Ratio and the BLRF Technical Annex calculates this for you automatically. It is the ratio of the quantified outputs to the grant being sought.

Examples of non-monetised benefits

The HMT Green Book (Annex A1 non-market valuation and unmonetisable values) and MHCLG appraisal guide provide examples of non-monetised benefits.

These include:

• Environmental and natural capital
• Land values
• Energy efficiency and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) values
• Life and health
• Travel time
• Affordable housing/housing tenure mix
• Visual amenity impacts

Applicants are also encouraged to put forward other identified non-monetised benefits for assessment where they provide sufficient positive impact on value for money that can be well evidenced.

Some hypothetical examples of non-monetised benefits below:

“Site A is a brownfield site with visual amenity impacts for local residents. The site is significant in the local area, vacant and in a very poor state of repair, as demonstrated by photography and an indicative site plan. The application is able to provide evidence that a significant number of local residents are affected by this blight through the use of maps and photographs of the site showing significant amounts of housing and community facilities in close proximity to the site, together with an estimate of the affected population, with evidence of local support. This application would score highly, having demonstrated a clearly detrimental impact on a sizeable community.”

“Site B is a brownfield site in which the land will be remediated so that it is suitable for new housing to be built including the provision of affordable housing. There may be different types of affordable housing built such as social rent, affordable rent and/or shared ownership. The application will set out the proportion of the new units built that fall into these categories. In this example, a significant proportion of the units delivered will be social rent. The development also accelerates the provision of affordable housing on the site, bringing forward affordable homes earlier than would be possible without intervention. The application is able to provide evidence of demand for that tenure within a strategic housing need assessment and/or reference to current planning policy, as well as evidencing that the stated provision of social housing is viable.”

Is there a date by when housing should be delivered?

No, but ideally house-building within two years of the land being released.

In the event that release of land does not take place by the deadline what are the consequences? Is the funding clawed back or is there a project review process?

Applications should aim to offer confidence in delivery. Any changes to project plans or project outputs during the delivery period must be agreed in writing by programme partners, the OPE Regional Team and MHCLG. If, after the award of funding and before the release of land, the scheme is no longer able to meet these criteria, MHCLG will consider whether it can continue to support the project. If MHCLG determines that it can no longer support the project, it will request the return of funding if unspent.

What do you mean by self and custom-build?

The Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 (as amended by the Housing and Planning Act 2016) defines self and custom-build as “the building or completion by: individuals; associations of individuals; or persons working with or for individuals or associations of individuals, of houses to be occupied as homes by those individuals”.  It does not include “the building of a house on a plot acquired from a person who builds the house wholly or mainly to plans or specifications decided or offered by that person”. 

Guidance updated by MHCLG in July 2017 states that “ In considering whether a home is a self build or custom-build, relevant authorities must be satisfied that the initial owner of the home will have primary input into its final design and layout”.

What is meant by market failure?

Market failure occurs where the market alone cannot achieve an economically efficient outcome. In the case of BLRF, this will occur when there is a need to provide remediation works or infrastructure that no developers would be able or willing to fund to make the land suitable for housing. Equally, those works would have been deemed too costly by the (public sector) land owner creating a funding gap which leaves the site stalled and with no prospect of being released for housing. Through your answer, you should be able to clearly demonstrate how the scheme addresses an existing market failure and the economic rationale for government intervention.

What is not funded?

The following is not expected to be funded through BLRF/S&CB:

• Revenue costs
• Early stage feasibility studies
• Community engagement
• Off-site infrastructure unless directly related and proportionate to the scheme
• Design/planning costs

This is not an exhaustive list.

What is meant by “homes unlocked”?

The proposed number of new homes to be delivered minus any homes replaced. For example, if demolishing 100 homes and building 120 homes, the number of homes unlocked will be 20.

Why are some parts of the basic details form locked? Why can’t I change them?

The basic details form will be used for internal processes which is why some parts are locked and cannot be updated. All parts of the form that you need to complete for your application are unlocked and updatable. Please contact [email protected] with any specific issues.

When does my application need to be received by?

Applications for BLRF funding must be received by OPE ([email protected]) by 2 June 2021 (23:59).

How can I be sure I have submitted all I need to?

There is a checklist in the basic details form. This should be completed before submitting your application.

What happens if my application is late?

Given the scale of the programme we cannot accept late applications.

When will I hear back about my application? When will funds be awarded?

Funding announcements are expected to be made in July 2021. BLRF grants (capital) are paid under The Local Government Act 2003, Section 31, and are awarded to the authority within which the project sits. Reporting is still carried out via the OPE partnership within which that authority sits.

Are there any reporting requirements if I am successful in my application?

Yes. All activity must adhere to reporting requirements. These will be set out in a condition of funding letter. Contact your Regional Programme Managers if you have any specific questions around reporting requirements before applying.

When does funding need to be spent?

As part of the deliverability assessment we will be seeking confirmation from local authorities that they will commence the process of releasing the land and spending the funding in the current financial year.