MORE than £1 million in government funding has been handed out to help build 200 new homes in Pendle.

Homes England confirmed Pendle Council has been awarded £1,149,808 to help bring forward the redevelopment of the Further Clough Head site, which already has outline planning permission for 200 homes.

The announcement is part of funding deals with 12 local authorities to deliver 4,000 homes across England.

The funding totalling £55million has been awarded through the Government’s £450 million Local Authority Accelerated Construction (LAAC) Programme and will support local authorities with a range of work required to prepare their sites for the development of new homes such as infrastructure enabling works, planning and technical expertise and site remediation.

Pendle Council Leader Cllr Mohammed Iqbal said: “Clearly the government is forcing councils to build more and more houses.

"Further Clough Head is one they have identified as being suitable for housing.

“I will be working with residents and councillors to identify the best type of housing for that area.

"What we don’t want is land-banking.

“The government is forcing us to build and we have got to get on with it.”

The site in Nelson was formerly home to a textile mill and sports ground if plans are given the green light by councillors.

The Valley Mills site closed around 30 years ago and was later cleared.

The site also contained a popular social club and sports grounds built to commemorate James Nelson and the fallen of the First World War.

Minister of state for housing, Kit Malthouse MP, said: “We haven’t built enough homes in this country for far too long – and our accelerated construction programme is here to change that, and fast.

“This £55 million funding boost will help councils get 4,000 new homes built across the country using the latest modern methods that cut down on construction time.

“We must keep building more, better, faster to meet our ambition to building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.”

Stephen Kinsella, executive director for land at Homes England, said: “This funding will enable local authorities to accelerate housing delivery by enabling them to prepare sites for development and bring forward the construction of new homes incorporating modern methods of construction.”