A dilapidated estate will receive £56 million to help speed up a radical regeneration scheme, a senior cabinet minister announced today.

Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, visited the Grahame Park Estate today to announce the government grant.

The money will be used to help rebuild the homes on the estate, which are more than 50 years old and have fallen into disrepair.

The £450m redevelopment project is being led by Barnet Borough Council and Genesis Housing Group and will include a mixture of social, affordable and shared ownership homes.

Speaking at a press conference at The Concourse, on the Grahame Park Estate, Mr Duncan-Smith said: “It gives us the opportunity to complete this project earlier than it originally would have been done.

“It will not only be built quicker, but it will be better too. It will provide a better quality of life for people who live here and allow us to create better jobs.”

As part of the project, Barnet and Southgate College will move from its current site in Grahame Park Way to a new site in Lanacre Avenue.

A total of 150 apprentices have also been employed by Genesis to help carry out building work on the site.

Colindale Tube station, which is part of the Northern Line and a stone’s throw from the estate, will also be rebuilt to help cope with a new influx of people.

Barnet Borough Council leader, Richard Cornelius, said: “£56m is a remarkable amount of money and if you look at the buildings at the moment, they aren’t the type people want to live in.

“We have a great record for building affordable housing. There are 26,000 new homes being built in Barnet – that’s impressive.”

The £56m is a slice of a £150m grant which has been divided between Barnet, Notting Hill, Southwark and Tower Hamlets.

Hendon MP Matthew Offord said: “It is also about what type of life we are trying to offer people and help give them aspirations to build lives for themselves.”