Councils in five English regions are set to share £374m to enable more housebuilding.

Among the last pre-election announcements was the latest round of Housing Infrastructure Fund projects.

Swindon, Wiltshire, Cornwall, North Somerset and Medway will share the £374m grant to unlock sites for up to 32,000 homes.

The money will go into providing site infrastructure such as roads, schools, public transport and utilities.

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick announced the competition to enable councils to create plans for large-scale developments similar to the Ebbsfleet project in Kent.

Sir George Iacobescu, who completed Canary Wharf, will decide which projects will get the money.

It revealed six councils will share cash to develop 13 sites for new homes as part of funding from the £450m Local Authority Accelerated Construction (LAAC) programme.

The homes will be built by either small firms or use modular construction

The advice includes how to navigate global investment markets which currently offer an excellent source of money that can be accessed relatively quickly.

The LGA said the guidance “provides councils with a unique opportunity to unlock their local areas’ potential and raise revenue. However, the infrastructure investment landscape can be a complex for councils to navigate”.

Gavin Lewis joins the firm as an asset manager from Vanguard where he was head of UK institutional.

His other previous roles include UBS and Russell Investments. Lewis will report to Sarah Melvin, head of UK.

The department told Parliament’s Transport Committee it would argue for a longer-term funding settlement so councils could repair more potholes on local roads.

Responding, Darren Rodwell, the Local Government Association’s transport spokesman, said: “The Government’s infrastructure strategy needs to provide stable, devolved infrastructure budgets to councils, in the same way as Highways England and Network Rail.

“Providing councils with a five-year funding allocation would mean they can invest in road maintenance and other infrastructure projects.”

The survey found that MMFs remain the most permissible investment (in 92% of investment policies), followed by bank obligations (62% of policies) and U.S. treasuries (60%).

The survey also found that 19% of investors are using ESG criteria to screen investments, with a further 25% planning to start within the next two years.

Rising political risk tops the list of investment challenges, with 67% of respondents expressing concern about the U.S.-China trade war and Brexit.

“The changing global economic environment presents investors with many new challenges, from slowing growth, rising trade tensions, and falling interest rates,” said Paula Stibbe, global head of liquidity sales at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.”

The corporation will use the cash to fund capital projects including the relocation of the Museum of London.

It will also help finance the consolidation of three wholesale food markets – Billingsgate (fish), Smithfield (meat) and New Spitalfields (fruit).

The loan will be made to City’s Cash, a corporation fund that helps pay for services but does not qualify for Public Works Loan Board borrowing.

Jeremy Mayhew, chairman of the corporation’s finance committee, said: “We are pleased to have secured this funding with Legal & General.

“It is a prudent means of financing our major projects, allowing us to invest with confidence for the future, and to create a legacy for London.”