The government has announced it will progress work on developing new towns across England, following publication of an independent report that recommends 12 potential locations. In a speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, housing secretary Steve Reed confirmed that work will be launched on all 12 sites, as he reiterated his commitment to meeting home building targets.
Speaking at the conference, Reed said:
“I will do whatever it takes to get Britain building again, and we won’t just build homes, we’ll build communities. And not just communities but entire towns.”
In a written statement released earlier yesterday, the government said building is planned to begin in at least three of the new towns during the current Parliament, with further work ‘on a far larger range of locations’ progressed if it is proved to be feasible.
The government said it welcomes all 12 locations identified in the report, which was produced by a task force commissioned in September 2024 and led by Sir Michael Lyons, non-executive chairman of the English Cities Fund and former chairman of the BBC Trust.
Wider recommendations on delivery and implementation have also been accepted. A New Towns Unit is set to be established to progress development on the towns, which will work with ‘all departments and their agencies’.
The report recommends a mixture of large-scale communities including urban extensions, urban regeneration and standalone greenfield sites. It recommends each new town should have at least 10,000 homes, and aim for a minimum of 40% affordable housing, half of which will be for social rent.
The government will undertake a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) to understand the environmental implications of developing new towns, and says no final decisions on locations will be made until the assessment concludes. Preferred locations could change as a result of the process.
‘The government will be looking for assurance that any location can be effectively and efficiently delivered in partnership with local communities, has a clear economic purpose, and will support economic growth’, the statement added.
“Different delivery vehicles will also be tested to learn lessons for how future large settlements are delivered and to contribute to a wider transformation of housing supply.”
Draft proposals and a final SEA for consultation will be published in the spring, alongside a full government response to the New Towns Taskforce’s report.
Roger Mortlock, chief executive of the countryside charity CPRE, acknowledged new towns have a role to play, but repeated calls for a brownfield-first approach to building.
‘Too many of these sites will needlessly see great swathes of countryside and the green belt lost to development while the list of brownfield sites grows’, he said.
“Many rural communities on this list are already faced with a huge hike in housing numbers following the government’s recalculation of the formula, unrelated to local housing need or demand. Faced with a new town, housing targets in these areas should be radically reduced to reflect the huge changes to their communities that a new town will bring.
“The focus in the taskforce’s report on urban regeneration, a new approach to housing density and affordable housing is welcome, but the definition of affordable needs rethinking and matching to local incomes if it is to tackle the housing crisis.
“There is a massive opportunity to rethink how we build new places, faced with the climate and nature crises, that still needs more emphasis. Putting nature at the heart of these communities is not the icing on the cake; it should be the starting point.”
The government’s announcement comes as David Campbell, chief operating officer at the National House Building Council (NHBC), warns the government’s housing targets will be difficult to achieve without ‘a significant and sustained expansion’ of the workforce required to build the homes.
‘We welcome ‘build, baby, build’, but we need to ‘skill, baby, skill’, to ensure we have the workforce needed to build 1.5 million homes’, he said.
“Without a significant increase in the workforce, scaling up the volume of quality new homes will be incredibly challenging. More than 250,000 extra construction workers will be needed by 2028 just to meet the current demand, let alone build more new homes. That’s why we must get moving now. You can’t create a skilled workforce overnight.”
The New Towns Taskforce report and the government’s initial response can be seen here.
The 12 locations recommended in the report are:
- A standalone settlement in Adlington, Cheshire East.
- A corridor of connected development in South Gloucestershire, across Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc.
- An expanded development bringing together Chase Park and Crews Hill in Enfield.
- Redevelopment of the former airbase at Heyford Park in Cherwell.
- Urban development in the South Bank, Leeds.
- Inner-city development and densification in Manchester, Victoria North.
- A standalone settlement in Marlcombe, East Devon.
- A ‘renewed town’ in Milton Keynes.
- Densified development in Plymouth.
- A new settlement in Tempsford, Central Bedfordshire.
- The creation of a riverside settlement in Thamesmead, Greenwich.
- Expanded development at Worcestershire Parkway, Wychavon.
One Response
Err,
‘by next Spring’. So summer then.
Which leaves you three years of your term.
As if the Chancellor wasn’t already doing a good job of it. They do love reinforcing the notion that this is a cabinet completely devoid of maths skills.