The government has kick-started a housebuilding programme to build “a new generation of new towns” as part of its drive to boost economic growth.
It will be led by regeneration expert Sir Michael Lyons as chair of the New Towns Taskforce, supported by top housing economist Dame Kate Barker as deputy chair.
The New Towns Taskforce aims to create large-scale communities of at least 10,000 homes each, with many significantly larger.
While the programme will include large-scale new communities that are separate from existing settlements, a far larger number of new towns will be urban extensions and regeneration schemes that will work with the grain of development in any given area.
The communities will be governed by a New Towns Code – a set of rules that developers will have to meet to make sure new towns are well-connected, well-designed, sustainable and attractive places where people want to live.
The towns will also help meet housing need by targeting rates of 40% affordable housing with a focus on affordable social rented homes.
Barker’s appointment follows her writing an open letter to housing minister Matthew Pennycook asking the Labour government to provide “coherence, clarity and consistency” earlier this month.
The Radix Big Tent Housing Commission, which Baker chairs, comprises 16 experts from across the public, private and voluntary sectors and has listed “urgent steps” Pennycook should implement to tackle the housing crisis.
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said: “Our new towns will deliver housing fit for the future, shaping new communities with real character that people can be proud to call home.
“With Sir Michael in the driving seat, I know his taskforce will work together with local people to help us decide on the right places for these new towns, delivering more homes, jobs and green spaces.
“We are getting Britain building again and our long-term vision for a new generation of new towns will enrich the lives of working people in the years to come.”
Lyons said: “A new generation of new towns and largescale urban extensions could play a significant role in the government’s plans for economic growth as well as offering new homes on an ambitious scale.
“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.”
Speaking on the launch of the taskforce, Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “Sir Michael Lyons and Dame Kate Barker are hugely experienced and are excellent appointments to lead the New Towns Taskforce. New towns are a vital part of not just delivering growth and homes but of creating the places of the future.
“They will take time to deliver and that’s why it’s positive to see government acting so soon after being elected.
“BPF members have been building and managing places for decades, in some cases centuries, and are keen to play their part in building professionally-managed homes for long-term rent, mixed-use developments for modern town centres, and the logistics and other critical national infrastructure that makes places work.”
Leech added that she hoped the New Towns Taskforce would take into account Monday’s announcement on reviewing the business case and funding for infrastructure projects, and that new town locations will align with sites best able to absorb new communities.
She said: “This would make the measures announced this week, when viewed as a whole, one of the most significant statements of intent on housing and placemaking we have seen in years.”
Photo © Wiktor Szymanowicz/Shutterstock
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