Currently awaiting approval, the new projects could pave the way for tens of thousands new homes.
The Government have revealed that there have been 100 applications from councils across England to build new towns. The news comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to begin construction on 12 such projects before the next general election.
Now the applications have been submitted, Starmer has claimed that the New Towns Taskforce (NTT) will review the proposals before publishing recommendations this summer.
As it stands, the NTT have established ‘clear principles on what the next generation of new towns will deliver’, including affordable housing – a target Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook is keen to encourage.
Of the applications that have been put forward, Pennycook said the majority were for extensions to existing towns or cities, alongside some for new standalone settlements, with the aim for each new town to have at least 10,000 homes.
The need for new homes in England is more severe than ever. Research from Crisis shows there was a net loss of 12,000 social homes in 2023 and 1.28 million households in England are on council waiting lists.
Commenting on the announcement, Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: ‘New towns are key to solving the housing crisis as they can set affordable price points for homes, attract businesses with the promise of strategic employment land, and build all things a community needs to ensure housing and infrastructure are not competing for limited land availability.
‘The Government should be commended for taking on the NIMBYs to deliver new towns, and it will greatly help them toward their 1.5m home target and delivery of sustainable and strategic growth.’
In light of the new plans, the government have said organisations such as Natural England, the Environment Agency and National Highways will need to bring housebuilders and planners together so they can iron out any concerns before commencing.
Rico Wojtulewicz, heading of policy at NFB, added: ‘New towns are an opportunity to support SMEs by allocating sites specifically for them, which is important for housing diversification and because 73% of construction apprentices are trained by SMEs, who typically employ within 20 miles of their head offices. This makes SMEs key to reducing a reliance on immigrant labour and ensuring people have good careers.
‘Supporting SMEs through new town planning would also rectify some of the criticisms made by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) about the planning system being anti-competitive and so reducing the quality and variety of new homes, while also being the reason SME market share continues to drop.’
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