Calls for community-led housing to be embedded in every town

In support of the New Towns Taskforce, new research, which was published today, is calling on the government to prioritise community led housing in new developments.

The New Towns Taskforce was established shortly after the 2024 snap election. The group was created to advise the government on how best to deliver new towns and developments – a pledge that dominated labour’s manifesto and has been factored into every political speech since. For example, the autumn budget and spring statement.

Next month the taskforce are due to meet with government and deliver their recommendations. With this in mind, the Community Land Trust Network and UK Cohousing convened a workshop of 80 cross-sector experts to explore how people can be central to the new town scheme.

From the workshop the experts complied their findings into a new report, which outlines:

• Every new town should place community assets into Community Land Trusts to shape long-term stewardship
• At least 10-40% of all new homes should be community led/custom built
• Councils, landowners and developers should integrate community partners from the earliest stages of planning

Tom Chance, CEO of the Community Land Trust Network, said large housing developments currently appear ‘soulless’ and ‘disempowering’ to people who live in or near them.

‘We have proven models of community-led housing that give people agency and create thriving spaces,’ Tom continued. ‘Now we need policy and delivery frameworks that make them the norm, not the exception.’

Owen Jarvis, CEO of UK Cohousing, added: ‘Community-led housing and stewardship offer long-term management solutions, unlock community buy-in and de-risk the early stages of large sites. With the right partnerships, they can strengthen new town development.

‘There is an appetite from across the housing sector to scale up these approaches. With the right ambition, and support from government this vision can be made a reality.’

The full report can be found here.

Photo by SAMS Solutions via UnSplash 

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