New Homes Bonus

New homes, in the right places, can deliver a number of benefits to the local economy.

Councillor Michael Gorman, chair of Cheshire East Council’s economy and growth committee, said:

“On Wednesday, the Government published the provisional New Homes Bonus allocations for local councils for the 2025/26 financial year. It’s a grant paid by central government to local councils to reflect housing growth in their areas. 

“It is calculated based on factors including the number of long-term empty homes brought back into use each year, and the number of affordable homes provided.  

“We welcome the provisional allocation for Cheshire East, which recognises that we are a growth borough and committed to delivering stronger communities. 

“New homes, in the right places, can deliver a number of benefits to the local economy, such as job creation, improved infrastructure, and increased footfall and spending in our town centres, which helps our businesses to thrive, as the nature of retail continues to change and we have to bring more experiences into places. 

“We are uniquely placed along freight routes into the ports of Liverpool and Holyhead with strong connections to Wales and with excellent access to both Manchester Airport and East Midlands Airport. 

“We have north south connectivity via the M6 and direct services to the city of London on the west coast mainline making Cheshire East an attractive borough to invest live and work – and this is testament to that. 

“The provisional New Homes Bonus allocation has been announced as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement and is just one element of how the settlement is calculated. 

“The impact of New Homes Bonus and other funding announcements will form part of our final budget-setting considerations in the coming weeks.”