Labour government releases policy statement on “a generation of new towns”

In 1946, as Great Britain emerged from World War II, the New Towns Act came into force, giving the government the legal right to designate areas of land for new town development. The new towns programme was an ambitious planning project designed to alleviate overcrowding and poor living conditions in London, which had been devastated by the Blitz and could no longer accommodate its growing population.

Green belt land on the outskirts of London was used for the construction of these new towns, funnelling the London overspill out into the surrounding countryside. Stevenage, in Hertfordshire, was the first town created under the Act; a total of 32 communities were built over the ensuing decades until the programme eventually ended in 1970.

Now, the new Labour government has published a policy statement outlining its vision for a “generation of new towns” which, it says, will help get Britain building again, kickstart growth across the country and support the government’s target of  building 1.5 million homes across the next parliament. The programme is being touted as the “largest housebuilding programme since the post-war period.”

The new towns programme – take two

This government intends to construct several “large-scale new communities” on greenfield land, in addition to a larger number of urban extensions and regeneration schemes for existing towns. The new communities will each contain at least 10,000 homes, but some will be much larger. Collectively, the government says that these new communities could provide hundreds of thousands of homes in the ensuing decades.

The New Towns Code

In its policy statement, the government referred to a ‘New Towns Code’ – a set of rules by which developers will have to abide in order to ensure that these new towns are “well-connected, well-designed, sustainable and attractive places where people want to live and have all the infrastructure, amenities and services necessary to sustain thriving communities.” And, with a target of 40% affordable homes, the government hopes that its new towns programme will help alleviate the ongoing affordable housing shortage.

The New Towns Taskforce

So, how will this gargantuan project get off the ground? Well, it starts off with a New Towns Taskforce, whose job will be to advise the government on appropriate locations for significant housing growth. Led by Chair Sir Michael Lyons, who has 26 years of experience in a wide range of local government positions and has sat on the board of major homebuilders such as Redrow Homes and Sage Housing,  the Taskforce has 12 months to deliver a shortlist of recommendations.

Mr Lyons said: “I am proud to lead the New Towns Taskforce to make sure new towns deliver on the government’s vision and meet the needs of local people. Our mission begins today and we will work closely with local leaders and their communities as well as the wider development and investment sectors to make sure these new towns are built in the right places.”

Sir Michael will be supported by Deputy Chair Kate Barker, a former non-executive director at Taylor Wimpey and experienced housing policy adviser.

Keeping you up to date with new developments

The government’s policy statement marks a new era for homebuilding and will be an exciting project to follow from a planning and legal perspective. We expect that more news will be forthcoming following the Taskforce’s first meeting in September.

Please continue to keep an eye on our blog and social media channels for further updates!