Houses in Great Yarmouth. Councils are getting extra money for approving new homes Photo: Angela Sharpe

Norfolk councils will receive £2.9m over the next financial year under a government scheme which aims to encourage the building of new homes.

The money is coming under the New Homes Bonus, which sees councils passed extra money if they give planning permission to new residential properties.

The money will be handed to the county’s seven district authorities after they approved 2,662 new homes last year; meaning the councils will have received £9.2m from the scheme in three years.

Under the scheme, if an authority approves new housing it receives a sum from the government equivalent to the council tax chargeable on each of the extra properties every year for the next six years, plus a further £350 annually for each home deemed “affordable”.

The biggest winner was South Norfolk which approved 795 new homes and brought seven empty properties back into use. In total 218 of the homes were affordable, meaning the council netted an extra £923,154.

Kings Lynn and West Norfolk Council approved 555 homes, of which 177 were affordable. While the council ended last year with an extra 66 properties registered as empty, it still managed to gain an extra £543,132 under the New Homes Bonus.

Norwich approved 270 new homes, brought 135 back into use, with 192 of the total deemed as affordable. The authority gained £424,356. Great Yarmouth approved 283 homes and brought 44 homes back into use, of which 90 were affordable, netting the council £321,343.

Broadland approved 270 homes and brought 20 empty ones back into use, of which 52 were affordable, netting the council £313,655. Breckland approved 310 of which 73 were affordable, but ended up with 97 extra empty homes. It gained £235,455.

North Norfolk approved 179 homes of which 34 were affordable, but the council ended the year with an extra 100 properties registered as empty.

Meanwhile Waveney approved 142 new homes and brought 100 back into use, with 40 of the total being affordable. They got £238,410.