The government has confirmed it will progress work on the next generation of new towns across England, as 12 potential locations have now been identified.
The government says it is determined to begin building at least three new towns in this Parliament and is prepared to progress work on a larger range of locations if it proves possible.
The report was produced by the New Towns Taskforce, which is led by Sir Michael Lyons and was commissioned by the government to determine different approaches to large-scale development. The taskforce has recommended a mixture of large-scale communities, including urban extensions, urban regeneration and standalone greenfield sites should be built, comprising at least 10,000 homes with a minimum of 40% affordable housing.
The government has welcomed all 12 recommended locations and the report’s wider recommendations on delivery and implementation. The government response also states that at this stage, sites at Tempsford in Bedfordshire, Crews Hill in Enfield and Leeds South Bank look most promising.
A New Towns Unit will also be established to progress development on new towns. The Unit will work with all departments and their agencies to ensure new towns are a test bed for innovation and to unblock barriers to delivery.
The 12 recommended locations are:
- A standalone settlement in Adlington, Cheshire East; to serve the growing industries in Greater Manchester and Cheshire, as identified in the government’s Industrial Strategy.
- A corridor of connected development in South Gloucestershire, across Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc; building in one of the highest productivity areas in the country with a high-value research, advanced engineering and technology economy.
- An expanded development bringing together Chase Park and Crews Hill in Enfield; delivering green development and helping address London’s acute housing need.
- Redevelopment of the former airbase at Heyford Park in Cherwell; connecting to Oxford and building on the existing progress and commitment to high-quality placemaking; referencing the area’s past and supporting its future in innovative technology industries.
- Urban development in Leeds; catalysing on the city’s existing economic prospects and capturing the benefits of the government’s £2.1billion local transport funding allocation for the Combined Authority by delivering well-connected, high-quality homes in the South Bank to support the city centre.
- Inner-city development and densification in Manchester, Victoria North; supporting continued growth and attracting high-skilled workers to service the city’s diverse industries.
- A standalone settlement in Marlcombe, East Devon; strengthening the region’s labour supply and supporting the Exeter and East Devon Enterprise Zone.
- A ‘Renewed Town’ in Milton Keynes; reinvigorating the city centre and expanding to the north and east whilst reshaping the way people travel, by delivering a Mass Rapid Transit system.
- Densified development in Plymouth; evolving Britain’s Ocean City and capitalising on the government’s £4.4 billion investment in HMNB Devonport, Western Europe’s largest naval base.
- A new settlement in Tempsford, Central Bedfordshire; to maximise the benefits of East West Rail by building a well-connected new town in the heart of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.
- The creation of a riverside settlement in Thamesmead, Greenwich; unlocking inaccessible land in the city and improving connectivity if the proposed extension of the Docklands Light Railway can be delivered to enable the development.
- Expanded development at Worcestershire Parkway, Wychavon; accelerating delivery around the existing train station to help meet regional housing need and act as a model for sustainable, carbon neutral development.
Melanie Leech CBE, chief executive of the British Property Federation, commented: “The government’s commitment to the New Towns programme, and to using all the levers it has to enable investment to be unlocked and public and private sectors to work together is very welcome. Development viability is under severe pressure across the country because of high materials, construction and capital costs, as well as continuing delays in the planning system and regulatory burdens, and we will need targeted and robust interventions to deliver. We share the vision for places that are highly sustainable, have strong connectivity and transport links, are aligned to the wider needs of the national, regional, and local economies, drive vibrant and sustainable high streets and offer a broad choice of housing across all tenures and affordability ranges.”
“BPF members have been building and managing places for decades, in some cases centuries, and are keen to play their part in building professionally managed homes for long-term rent, mixed-use developments for modern town centres, and the logistics and other critical national infrastructure that makes places work.”
Paul Rickard, chief executive of Pocket Living, commented: “This report is welcome at a time when we need to significantly increase the level of new homes. The New Towns strategy provides both a medium and longer-term housing strategy, something that is to be welcomed. More importantly, this is an opportunity to place SMEs at the heart of a national housing strategy by allocating plots within the new towns to local SME developers. This could help reverse the impending extinction of the SME sector and vastly increase the delivery capability of the nation.”
