£142m to boost building and jobs in east England

More than £142m in government money will be given to east England towns to boost housing, jobs and infrastructure.

Communities minister Parmjit Dhanda unveiled the Regional Spatial Strategy for the area today, which aims to deliver 508,000 more homes and create 452,000 jobs by 2021.

Major growth will be centred around Cambridge, Peterborough, Stevenage, Harlow, Norwich, Colchester, Ipswich and Thetford.

An extra £28m will be given to the growth towns of Chelsford, Hemel Hempstead, St Albans, St Edmunsbury and Hatfield.

Dhanda said affordable housing targets in new developments had been set at 35%.

She said: “Beyond the short-term squeeze of the credit crunch our population is still ageing and more people are choosing to live alone, meaning new households are growing faster than new homes.

“If more homes are not built now the housing ladder will get even further out of reach leaving the next generation with nowhere to live.”