<p><span>The government has announced Wolverhampton and Sheffield as the first of 20 areas to benefit from a “radical new regeneration programme” under its Brownfield Fund.</span><span></span></p> <p><span>The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has revealed plans as part of its Levelling Up White Paper, due to be published this week, which it said would see derelict sites in English towns and city centres “transformed” with new homes, jobs and “beautiful new communities”. </span></p> <p><span>Under the plans, local leaders of Wolverhampton would be enabled to revive the city and wider Wolverhampton to Walsall corridor, DLUHC said. Sheffield’s new regeneration opportunities would capitalise on the region’s planned Integrated Rail Plan electrification and upgrades. </span></p> <p><span>The 20 areas will benefit from what DLUHC said was a new £1.5 billion Brownfield Fund. This follows the department announcing in the Autumn Budget a </span><span>£1.8 billion brownfield fund to deliver 160,000 homes.</span></p> <p><span>DLUHC added that as part of a wider package of brownfield funding for these regions, worth </span><span>£120 million, £28 million would go to the West Midlands Combined Authority and £13 million to the South Yorkshire Combined Authority, “to fund the projects most needed to support local levelling up ambitions”. </span></p> <p><span>Seven mayoral combined …