Government Selects Seven Sites for New Town Development
The government has refined its list of potential locations for the development of "new towns" in England as part of its housing expansion initiative. The housing department has identified seven areas to proceed to further consultation, with the final selections expected to be announced later this year.
Conversely, six other sites, including a controversial proposal in Cheshire that sparked protests outside council meetings, have been deprioritised from the scheme.
Labour ministers have committed to commencing construction on three of the selected sites before the next general election, which must occur by 2029 at the latest.
Sites Selected for Progression
The seven sites advancing in the scheme are Tempsford; Leeds South Bank; Crews Hill and Chase Park; Manchester Victoria North; Thamesmead; Brabazon and West Innovation Arc; and a site in Milton Keynes.
This initiative was initially announced at the Labour party conference in 2023, where Sir Keir Starmer pledged to establish an unspecified number of new developments on the outskirts of major English cities if Labour formed the government.
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 Two, which included Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead and Harlow.
In September, a dedicated taskforce recommended 12 locations for consideration following a year-long review.
The housing department has now indicated that five of these areas, along with a proposal in South Barking also reviewed by officials, will not advance "at this stage".
It noted that these areas remain "credible development opportunities" and may benefit from support through other government programmes.
Details of the Selected Sites
The seven sites moving forward encompass a variety of development types, ranging from standalone new towns to expansions of existing towns and urban regeneration projects within major cities.
These include central locations in Leeds and Manchester, Brabazon near Bristol, and new developments in Greenwich and Enfield in London.
The government will also explore proposals for a new settlement in Tempsford, Bedfordshire, and a "renewed town" in Milton Keynes, which was part of a subsequent generation of post-war new towns designated in the 1960s.
Sites Deprioritised from the Programme
Locations removed from the programme include plans for standalone settlements in Marlcombe, east Devon, and the rural village of Adlington in Cheshire—a scheme opposed by the local Labour MP.
Other deprioritised sites include proposed developments near Worcestershire Parkway train station and Heyford Park in Oxfordshire, a former airbase, as well as a plan to construct thousands of new homes in Plymouth.
Government Housing Targets and Implementation Plans
The government has set a target to build 1.5 million new homes in England by the next general election. However, industry experts have questioned the feasibility of this goal.
Ministers have pledged to establish delivery bodies responsible for developing the new towns. These bodies may exercise powers to compulsorily purchase land if "reasonable efforts" to reach agreements with landowners fail.
Each site will undergo further environmental assessments, with the government aiming for each location to provide between 10,000 and 40,000 homes.
Funding for the scheme will come from an existing affordable housing fund and a new investment agency created to stimulate house building, though a specific budget has yet to be announced.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed has previously said funding would only be allocated "when we know exactly what we want to build and where".
The Financial Times, which first reported the deprioritisation of some sites, noted that government funding for necessary transport and other infrastructure near the sites has been a sticking point for some private investors.
The government has not yet decided on names for the new developments.
Reports in The Sun have suggested proposed names such as Elizabethtown, honoring the late Queen; Pankhurst, named after suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst; and Athelstan, considered the first king of England.
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