More than £3 million has been secured to build affordable homes and homeless hostels on brownfield sites in Camden.

Camden Council has received the most money out of any London borough as part of a national scheme called the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF).

The funding will be used by the council to clear empty buildings and industrial land to make way for new homes.

A total of 54 councils across England, including seven London boroughs, received a slice of a £68 million pot of government cash.

Around half of the money awarded to Camden will be used to clear the site at 120-136 Camley Street, which will eventually deliver 350 new homes, half of which are described as affordable.

The project is a joint venture with developers Ballymore and Lateral.

The development has not been without controversy. Leo Fiernan, who had been living under a walkway near railway tracks in Camley Street since 2007, took the council to court over its attempt to evict him from the site.

The council promised to offer him a “route away from living on the street”, claiming the land was needed for “much-needed council and affordable housing”.

A further £1.5 million from the fund will be used to provide 89 rooms at homelessness hostels in Chester Road and Camden Road.

The allocation of the remaining £200,000 has not been specified, but will contribute towards what the council describes as its “small sites programme”.