Labour has named seven locations for proposed new towns, part of its most ambitious housebuilding programme in more than 50 years.
The developments are intended to be built ‘from the ground up’, with homes, schools, jobs, green space and transport links planned together.
Each site is expected to deliver at least 10,000 homes, with some planned for 40,000 or more. The proposed locations include:
- Tempsford, Bedfordshire
- Crews Hill and Chase Park, Enfield
- Leeds South Bank, West Yorkshire
- Manchester Victoria North, Greater Manchester
- Thamesmead, Greenwich
- Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc, South Gloucestershire
- Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
These sites will be taken forward for further consultation, with the final locations to be confirmed later this year.
Housing secretary Steve Reed said: ‘People want real change – homes they can afford, local infrastructure that works, and good jobs in thriving communities.
‘Our next generation of new towns marks a turning point in how we build for the future. From the ground up, we’re planning whole communities with homes, jobs and transport links, and green spaces designed together – so we an give families the security and opportunities they deserve.’
Four interim advisers have been appointed to support the New Towns Unit, including Lyn Garner, former chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, Ian Piper, former chief executive of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, Emma Cariaga, chief operating officer of British Land and David Rudlin, founding principal of Rudlin & Co and principal author of the UK government’s National Model Design Code.
The scheme was first announced at the Labour party conference in 2023, when Sir Keir Starmer promised to build an unspecified number of new developments on the outskirts of big English cities if his party took power.
He pledged the programme would deliver the ‘next generation of new towns’, in an echo of those developed by the Labour government after World War II, which included Stevenage and Harlow.
Alongside today’s news, the government also confirmed the National Housing Bank will launch on 1st April, with up to £16bn of capacity to deliver more than 500,000 new homes.
Simon Century, chief executive of National Housing Bank, said: ‘From day one, we’ll use deep expertise to back innovative, large-scale delivery – accelerating the supply of high-quality affordable homes and thriving places people want to live.’
Chancellor Rachel Reeves added: ‘For decades this country’s planning system has been a direct obstacle to building new homes, ramping up costs and pricing young people out of the housing market.
‘Two years ago, I promised that we would grasp the nettle of planning reform. Now we’re planning to build a new generation of new towns, opening up the expansion of our most dynamic cities and raise up new communities.’
Six further locations, including Plymouth and South Barking, will not proceed as new towns but may still be supported through existing housing programmes.
Currently, the names for the new developments have not been decided, but a report from The Sun said some of the name suggestions include Elizabethtown, after the late Queen and Pankhurst, named after the suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst.
Image: Ted Balmer/UnSplash
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