<p>The housebuilding industry has welcomed the measures announced today by communities secretary Sajid Javid aimed at increasing new homes supply.</p> <p>“Moves to speed up the planning process, bring more land forward more quickly and assist small developers are exactly what the industry has been telling government is needed and should build on the increases of recent years,” said the Home Builders Federation.</p> <p>Measures announced today include the launch of a £3 billion Home Builders Fund which will provide £1 billion of short term loan funding for small builders, custom builders, and innovators, aimed at delivering 25,500 homes by 2020. This is an increase of £325 million over the previous commitment through the £525 million Builders Finance fund and the £150m Build to Rent fund - these will now be incorporated within the new combined fund.</p> <p>The fund will also provide £2 billion of long term funding for infrastructure aimed at unlocking a pipeline of up to 200,000 homes over the longer term – with the emphasis on developments on brownfield land. HBF said that £1.2 billion of this £2 billion had been previously announced as the Large Sites Infrastructure Fund in 2015.</p> <p>Javid also announced an “Accelerated Construction” programme paid …