<p>Housing minister Grant Shapps has today announced details of the New Homes Bonus.</p> <p>Nearly £1 billion will be set aside for the bonus in the next four years, £196 million of which will be for this year (2011-2012). The government will match the council tax raised from new homes for the first six years, which - it says - works out at more than £9,000 for each Band D home over the full period. The bonus for affordable housing will be 36% higher, so averaging almost £11,000 for a Band D affordable home.</p> <p>The government calculates 326 local authorities will receive a share of the £196 million for increasing the housing stock by 150,000 homes this year.</p> <p>"We need to get the country building again," said Shapps of the New Homes Bonus. "But not through a Whitehall knows best arrogance. To kick start a housebuilding revolution, development needs to be backed by local communities rather than opposed by them."</p> <p>Barratt ceo Mark Clare said the announcement was an important step forward. "We are already talking to local authorities about what the implications of our planned developments will be in terms of additional funding for them. However there is still some …