<p><span>The government has opened its second brownfield fund, which it says will create 17,600 new homes, elevating disused and derelict sites in England.</span></p> <p><span>Councils can now apply for a share of the £180 million Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 to be released over two years, which will reportedly also generate around 54,000 jobs over the next four years. </span></p> <p><span>An initial £40 million has been allocated for local regeneration projects, which the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said would deliver around 4,000 new homes on council owned land. The remaining £140 million of the second brownfield fund will become available to local authorities over the next two years.</span></p> <p><span>DLUHC said the fund would aid local economies and “help thousands of young people and families into home ownership”, as well as contribute to “levelling up”. Through offering funds for small scale infrastructure and remediation work, the scheme aims to rejuvenate small, previously developed council sites to trigger land release for new homes.</span></p> <p><span>The announcement follows the first Brownfield Land Release Fund under which £77 million went to councils, releasing sites for around 7,750 new homes. Examples under this first tranche include £670,000 for the Lancashire One Public Estate …