Brownfield Housing Fund: additional £150m of public funding announced
19th November, 2025
The government has announced additional public funding to support projects that involve the delivery of housing upon brownfield sites.
In this article, Ward Hadaway Head of Housing Lesley Fairclough and Public Funding Partner Alexander Rose explain how this funding will be allocated and the legal issues which need to be considered when delivering projects using the Brownfield Housing Fund.
What is the Brownfield Housing Fund?
The UK Government’s Brownfield Housing Fund is a public funding initiative that is administered through Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and aims to unlock housing development upon sites which have a history of industrial or commercial use.
Brownfield sites have issues relating to contamination or existing infrastructure that makes development more expensive. At the same time there are often strong public policy reasons to want to bring such sites back into productive use.
The Brownfield Housing Fund was originally launched in 2020 and has supported projects such as:
- demolition and remediation works to unlock housing development in the Sheepfolds neighbourhood in Sunderland;
- Nottingham City Housing Association’s plans to construct new housing on the site of a former plastics factory; and
- Southway Housing Trust’s plans to build new affordable housing near Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
Brownfield Housing Fund allocations 2025 – 2026
Nearly £400m has been committed through the Brownfield Housing Fund since 2020. In November 2025, the government announced a further £150m to be allocated as follows:
| Strategic Authority | BHF Allocation (£) |
| West Midlands Combined Authority | £26,114,324 |
| Greater Manchester Combined Authority | £25,831,336 |
| West Yorkshire Combined Authority | £21,043,998 |
| East Midlands Combined Authority | £19,725,709 |
| North East Combined Authority | £17,629,948 |
| Liverpool City Region Combined Authority | £13,895,370 |
| South Yorkshire Combined Authority | £12,326,576 |
| York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority | £7,309,794 |
| Tees Valley Combined Authority | £6,122,946 |
| Total | £150,000,000 |
How has the announcement been received?
Unsurprisingly the announcement has been welcomed by Metro Mayors.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said “today’s announcement is a major step towards changing that: unlocking land, building the right homes in the right places, and giving local areas more of a say in how our communities grow”.
Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard, said “this money from Government is game-changing for us; giving us the opportunity to clear hundreds of derelict sites and build thousands of homes.”
There has also been support from industry with Gavin Smart from the Chartered Institute of Housing stating that the additional £150m to unlock brownfield land gives “mayors and combined authorities a greater role in shaping regional investment – alongside new flexibility and support for councils to build at scale” which “provides a strong foundation for lasting change”.
What types of legal issues arise from Brownfield Housing Fund grants?
The Brownfield Housing Fund is a well targeted grant funding programme, but the sites that are being addressed have difficult issues which means that external legal advice is often sought.
One of the first issues that arises is how to achieve compliance with subsidy control law. Pinch points in this regard can occur when the project involves addressing contamination (and the party responsible for this can be identified) and when a proposal involves multiple awards of public funding for different purposes.
It is common for specialist real estate advice to be commissioned at the outset of the project in order to fully understand the issues which are holding back development. Issues that need to be investigated and addressed in brownfield sites include poor ground conditions, contaminated land, water course pollution, buried abandoned infrastructure, below ground obstructions or voids, uncertain/inconclusive land ownership and boundaries, and adverse rights of way, light and air.
The regeneration of these sites – areas of land often once prime real estate in prominent locations that were previously used for industrial purposes but are now abandoned or significantly underutilised – is crucial for urban development which is sustainable. However it is also fraught with difficulties attributable to the significant challenges caused by the factors mentioned above which inevitably lead to financial complexities of costly remediation.
When third parties are brought in to provide services or deliver works it will also be necessary to consider public procurement law.
Conclusion
The announcement of additional grant funding towards unlocking development on brownfield sites is to be welcomed. However such sites, by their very nature, are affected by complex issues which can be difficult to manage. Developers contemplating delivering projects upon brownfield sites should always allow for long lead in times to allow the time required for enhanced legal due diligence and physical examination of the site to determine all likely issues and challenges. Funders will want to understand how that will impact their grant support in terms of delivery timescales but also outputs. Our recommendation is to identify potential issues early on and put in place a methodical plan to address each.
Ward Hadaway is a leading legal adviser for developers looking to use public funding to bring forward large capital projects and public authorities administering public funding. If you would benefit from legal assistance in respect of any of the issues raised please do get in touch with the authors.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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