A new £165 million fund aims to unlock stalled housing developments and accelerate infrastructure-led growth nationwide.
The UK government has announced a £165 million Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund designed to unblock stalled housing and employment sites across England. The initiative focuses on delivering critical road infrastructure to enable developers to move forward with schemes that have been delayed due to funding constraints.
This targeted intervention addresses a persistent challenge in the digital construction sector: the dependency of housing delivery on enabling infrastructure. By closing funding gaps for transport links, the programme is expected to accelerate project timelines and improve site viability.
The fund will support developments located on or near strategic road networks, particularly motorways and major A-roads, where connectivity remains a limiting factor. It also prioritises regions that have historically struggled to secure infrastructure investment, aligning with broader objectives to rebalance economic growth.
Road Investment Strategy 3 and infrastructure-led housing delivery
The Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund forms part of Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3), a £27 billion commitment to England’s motorways and major A-roads between 2026 and 2031. RIS3 represents a long-term infrastructure investment framework designed to integrate transport upgrades with housing and employment growth.
For digital construction stakeholders, RIS3 reinforces the role of infrastructure data, digital twins, and integrated planning platforms in aligning road investment with housing delivery pipelines. The strategy aims not only to maintain existing assets but also to ensure that transport infrastructure actively supports new development.
A key component of RIS3 is the allocation of £8.4 billion for renewing and resurfacing more than 9,000 kilometres of motorway and A-road lanes. This includes addressing ageing assets such as bridges, viaducts, and concrete road surfaces, many of which are over 45 years old. These upgrades are critical for ensuring network reliability and supporting increased demand from new housing developments.
Bridging funding gaps to accelerate construction delivery
The Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund is structured to bridge financial gaps that prevent essential transport works from progressing. Without these enabling works, housing and employment sites remain unviable, delaying both construction activity and economic benefits.
Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander emphasised the importance of removing infrastructure barriers: “Too many housing and employment opportunities have stalled for years, held back by the infrastructure that wasn’t there to support them.
“This fund will pave the way for developments that have sat idle for too long, funding the transport links that stalled sites need to get moving and generating new jobs and opportunities for communities that deserve them.
“It is a deliberate choice – and a signal that this government is serious about removing the barriers to growth.”
From a delivery perspective, the fund introduces a more coordinated approach between central government, local authorities, and infrastructure providers. National Highways will invite local authorities to submit candidate schemes, with a rolling programme of funded projects expected from the end of the 2026/27 financial year.
Supporting housing targets and regional economic growth
The initiative directly supports the government’s target to deliver 1.5 million new homes during the current Parliament. By unlocking constrained sites, the fund contributes to increasing housing supply while also enabling the creation of employment hubs.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed highlighted the social and economic impact of the programme: “For many people, the dream of a decent home, close to work, and with good connections to their community, has been out of reach.
“This government is firing on all cylinders to get spades in the ground faster so we can build new homes, bolster our transport links and create jobs in the places most in need.
This is exactly the kind of targeted, practical action that will help us reach 1.5 million new homes and create thriving communities where people can put down roots.”
For digital construction professionals, this creates opportunities to deploy data-driven planning, offsite construction methods, and integrated project delivery models at scale, particularly in regions with latent demand.
Transport infrastructure as a catalyst for development
Transport connectivity remains a key determinant of both residential demand and commercial investment. Reliable road networks influence where people choose to live and where businesses establish operations.
Elliot Shaw, Executive Director at National Highways, reinforced this link: “Reliable roads are crucial to housing developments. They shape where people want to live, where businesses want to invest, and where communities can thrive.
“This fund will help unlock the transport links needed for new homes and jobs and help the government achieve its ambitions on economic growth.”
The broader RIS3 programme is expected to support approximately 50,000 jobs over its five-year period, further underlining the economic impact of coordinated infrastructure and housing delivery.
The Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund demonstrates how targeted infrastructure investment can unlock housing, accelerate construction delivery, and support economic growth through coordinated planning, digital innovation, and long-term transport strategies.
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