The government has confirmed it intends to start building what it is calling “a next generation” of new towns across England before the next general election.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has confirmed the ambition, which is part of Labour’s manifesto pledge to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029.
Housing secretary Steve Reed (who has replaced Angela Rayner) pledged at Labour’s annual conference this week that work on three of the new towns will start before the next general election, meaning before (at the latest) August 2029.
The commitment has followed an independent report that has recommended 12 locations for these potential new towns.
Initially, sites at Tempsford near Bedford; Crews Hill, north of London; and Leeds South Bank in Yorkshire “look most promising”, the government has said.
The November/December edition of Lighting Journal will have a special focus on ‘future cities’, including a discussion around the vital role and impact of lighting – and in particular good lighting – in the development of these significant new urban centres.
A ‘New Towns Unit’ will also be established by the government to progress development on new towns, the MHCLG has said.
The New Towns Taskforce, led by Sir Michael Lyons, a former chairman of the BBC Trust, was commissioned last autumn by the government to explore different approaches to large-scale development.
In its report, the taskforce has recommended a mixture of large-scale communities including urban extensions, urban regeneration, and standalone greenfield sites should be built.
It has recommended that each new town should have at least 10,000 homes, with an ambition for a minimum of 40% affordable housing and half of which will be for social rent.
A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) will be undertaken to understand the environmental implications of developing new towns.
No final decisions on locations will be made until this assessment concludes and preferred locations could change as a result of the process, the government has emphasised.
Draft proposals and final SEA for consultation will be published in the spring, before confirming the locations that will be progressed as new towns soon after, the MHCLG also said.
The 12 recommended locations are:
- A standalone settlement in Adlington, Cheshire East; to serve the growing industries in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
- 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, connecting to Oxford.
- Urban development in Leeds.
- Inner-city development and densification in Manchester, especially Victoria North.
- A standalone settlement in Marlcombe, east Devon.
- A ‘renewed town’ in Milton Keynes, including ‘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.
- A new settlement in Tempsford, Central Bedfordshire.
- The creation of a riverside settlement in Thamesmead, Greenwich.
- Expanded development at Worcestershire Parkway, Wychavon.
Separately (see separate story), theMHCLG has unveiled a ‘Pride in Place’ programme, including with funding, to help revitalise and regenerate 330 of the country’s “most overlooked communities”.
Image: Tempsford, near Bedford, one of the sites for the government’s proposed ‘new towns’. Shutterstock
