As part of the big funding package, the government will invest £157m in critical infrastructure for big schemes in Devon and Cumbria.

The housing infrastructure fund loans will pay for a new motorway link road between south Carlisle and the M6, unlocking up to 10,000 new homes at St Cuthbert’s Garden Village.

In Devon, £55m will be spent on road improvements and other infrastructure so that 2,500 homes can be built to the south west of Exeter.

In a separate move, Homes England has struck a deal with the Ministry of Defence to build over 10,000 homes at seven military bases across the country.

In a separate funding deal for London, more than 1,500 new homes will be built at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park thanks to a £78m Home Building Fund loan to developers.

It is anticipated that the first phase of the Balfour Beatty and Places for People joint venture development will be completed in summer 2021, with work at East Wick and Sweetwater being fully completed by 2028.

Work has already begun on phase one of the site, which will include 130 new affordable homes and 105 for private rental, as well as more than 33,000 square feet of business and creative space.

Andrew Atkins, Development Director, East Wick and Sweetwater, said: “The start of the first phase of construction works for East Wick and Sweetwater is a big moment for Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the people of east London.

The government has also signed off the first scheme to receive cash from its £450m Accelerated Construction Programme.

£10.6m will be released to build 650 new homes on three sites in Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, Hertfordshire, using modern methods of construction.

Work is due to start on the first site in Hatfield town centre in June.

Communities Secretary James Brokenshire said: “We delivered 222,000 homes last year which is the highest number in a decade, but we must keep upping our game.

“We are invoking the spirit of Britain’s post-war push to build as we strive to hit our target of 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s, for the first time since the days of Harold Macmillan.

“By investing in infrastructure, freeing up public sector land and offering targeted loans we are making the housing market work.

“These deals struck today will help us build almost 25,000 more homes – which is another symbolic step towards our homebuilding targets.”