In parallel with the recent publication of the Road Investment Strategy 3 (2026-2031)
[1], National Highways have taken a strongly progressive step in announcing the Growth and Housing Accelerator (GHA) Fund
[2]. The new fund is similar to its predecessor (known as the Growth and Housing Fund – dormant for 5 years) and emphasises National Highways position to support road schemes that genuinely unlock and accelerate delivery of strategic housing and employment developments.
This builds on Lichfields recent advice to National Highways and the Government which highlighted essential alterations to the company’s remit and statutory consultee role so that it can be more strongly empowered to act as an enabler of economic and housing growth.
Whilst I will not repeat my opinions expressed in previous blogs and Insights, the Fund does not resemble a change to National Highways Licence and remit, but it demonstrates a clear growth intention and is a step in the right direction.
Further reading from Lichfields
Importantly, the Fund is restricted to development schemes that have already secured planning consent but are subject to conditions requiring specific transport interventions to be delivered before soil can be broken. This approach to public sector funding is both pragmatic and indeed refreshing as it prioritises more mature schemes and helps to ensure timely delivery.
In my opinion, as previously expressed, too much growth and regeneration funding has been underutilised with development delayed because of poorly defined funding criteria, unrealistic application timescales, and a lack of transparency in both scoring and approval processes. In particular, previous Government requirements for schemes to be “shovel ready” were often loosely framed and inconsistently applied, placing unrealistic expectations on local authorities. This approach inevitably contributed to delays in delivering growth. With the Levelling Up Fund being a prime example, the problem was that shovel-ready was not properly defined or indeed adhered to by appraisers of applications which led to much waste and delay with little growth to show for the efforts of local authorities. By contrast, the GHA provides a clearer and more explicit definition of what constitutes deliverability, offering a more structured and pragmatic framework for funding decisions.
Further reading from Lichfields
Without repeating the healthy headlines of National Highways impact on growth through the previous Growth and Housing Fund, the new GHA Fund is a no-brainer in terms of picking ripe, low-hanging fruit to deliver growth. My only gripe is that the fund could have been much more substantial than the £165 million earmarked for 2026-2030. However, the announcement of the Fund paves the way for future funding rounds The accompanying Prospectus sets a positive foundation, aligning with best practice principles we have previously recommended for the design of public funding programmes. In particular, the GHA Fund takes several constructive steps to support successful delivery from the outset:
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Clear funding criteria – The Fund establishes well-defined criteria against which Expressions of Interest will be assessed, providing applicants with direction, managing expectations, and ensuring a more transparent and level playing field for assurance.
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Visibility of the funding process – It sets out a comprehensive view of the end-to-end process for securing funding, enabling applicants to understand key gateways and the evidence required at each stage.
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Structured approach to business case development – National Highways has indicated that funding applications will be developed internally, while clearly articulating where applicant input and resources will be required. This ensures that expectations are set early and that appropriate capabilities are in place to support high-quality submissions.
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Encouragement of early collaboration – While only local and mayoral authorities are eligible to submit applications, the Fund actively encourages early engagement with developers. This helps to ensure that the right schemes are put forward and that key stakeholders are aligned from the outset, improving efficiency throughout the application process.
To illustrate the potential power of the GHA Fund, it is helpful to provide an example. The planned Chelmsford Garden Community in Essex has the capacity in total to deliver around 10,000 new homes, 45,000 sq.m employment space and substantial social amenity and infrastructure. Divided into three core zones, the scheme was stalled by the Government in its July 2025 Spending Review by cancelling the previously approved Development Consent Order (DCO) for the A12 Chelmsford to A120 widening scheme which formed a critical condition to implementation of the permission. The DCO would have included improvements to Junction 19 of the A12 which were fundamental to unlocking a significant proportion of the planned housing and employment development with the viability and delivery strategies dependent on the DCO commitments.
In light of the cancelled DCO, the developer consortium in partnership with Chelmsford City Council, Essex County Council, National Highways and Homes England worked together to define an alternative set of interim improvements to Junction 19 which would enable the unlocking and accelerated delivery of approximately 6,250 new homes. However, given that the development’s viability was partly underpinned by the approved DCO, the cost of implementing the interim road improvements would undermine the deliverability of these additional homes. Whilst a solid proportion of these costs could be met through funding committed by Homes England, a significant funding gap remains. Potentially addressing this funding gap through the National Highways GHA Fund represents a clear opportunity offering excellent value for money to unlock a substantial number of new homes and other benefits.
Junction 19 improvements to release a chunk of the Chelmsford Garden Community is just one example of a genuinely shovel ready growth project. Without doubt, there will be many similar development projects held back by unfunded but well-planned transport schemes which could eat up the £165 million in a period much shorter than the five years to 2030. It will be refreshing and positive for National Highways to demonstrate its role and commitment to directly enabling housing and economic growth.
Details of the GHA including the Funding Prospectus can be found here:
Expressions of interest close on Friday 19th June 2026. Whilst applications must be led by local authorities and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, early engagement and partnership working with developers is highly recommended.
For a free consultancy session of application advice, please contact
Richard Coburn.
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