More than 100 sites in England submitted for consideration as new towns
More than 100 sites across England have been put forward for consideration to be part of the next generation of new towns, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has said.
Every new town will have the potential to deliver 10,000 homes or more, the Ministry added.
Its New Towns Taskforce has issued an interim update in which it says it will deliver a final shortlist of site recommendations for potential new towns to MHCLG ministers this summer.
London, the south east, south west, and east of England provided the largest number of submissions, but multiple proposals were received from every region of England, the taskforce said.
The majority of the sites submitted were urban extensions to existing towns or cities, with a smaller number of proposals for a new standalone settlement.
Reports have suggested that ministers hope up to 12 new towns will be under construction by the next election.
It has also separately been revealed that a recent call for evidence issued by the 'New Homes Accelerator' team and ongoing engagement with stakeholders across the planning and development sectors has identified 725 developments of 500+ homes outlining their barriers to delivery and opportunities for acceleration with about 50% aiming to deliver more than 1,500 new homes.
The MHCLG claimed that 20,000 new homes have already been unblocked by the New Homes Accelerator programme, which deploys planning expertise to speed up the delivery of housing sites.
It added that areas that have already benefitted from direct government action include:
- More than 1,000 homes unlocked at Cowley Hill in Liverpool, “where an agreement has been reached with the Environment Agency who withdrew its previous objections on both flood risk and biodiversity grounds, subject to planning”.
- Wolborough in Devon, where the New Homes Accelerator has worked with Natural England to help accelerate this development, "whilst ensuring environmental improvements are secured".
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “For so many families, homeownership is a distant dream. After a decade of decline in housebuilding, the impact is a disconnect between working hard and getting on.”
He added: “We’re urgently using all levers available to build the homes we need so more families can get on the housing ladder. We’re sweeping aside the blockers to get houses built, no longer accepting no as the default answer, and paving the way for the next generation of new towns.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner said: “While our vision for the next generation of new towns is setting the stage for a housebuilding revolution in the years to come, urgent action is needed now to build the homes and infrastructure that our local communities are crying out for. That’s why our New Homes Accelerator is working at pace to find solutions and remove blockages in the system, executing long-lasting solutions to get spades in the ground.”
The Government has also today (13 February) announced plans to fast stream planning through brokering disagreements between the agencies and expert bodies, which by law must be consulted within the planning process.
“Bodies including National Highways, Natural England and the Environment Agency will need to bring planners and housebuilders to the table and iron out concerns that have been holding back development,” the MHCLG said.
It also said that work would be stepped up with the Building Safety Regulator to ensure greater timeliness and efficiency when new tall buildings are signed off.
Extra government funding for this work includes:
- £1 million for government agencies, including National Highways, Natural England and the Environment Agency, to speed up the planning approval of new homes and improve feedback to local authorities and industry where required.
- £2 million to support the Building Safety Regulator to continue improving the processing for new-build applications.
- Over £3 million of grants for local councils to bolster planning capacity, “alongside direct advice and navigate through some of the more complex issues holding up new development”.
According to the team behind the New Homes Accelerator, which is a collaboration between the Government, Homes England and the Greater London Authority, its recent call for evidence “surpassed expectations, highlighting the value of developing a better understanding of the barriers facing large-scale developments”.
In its response, published today (13 February), the team revealed that the call for evidence had identified both systemic problems with the planning and development process, and site-specific issues.
The team said: “Systemic issues include the role of statutory consultees (and other organisations involved in the development process), infrastructure delivery, utilities provision and environmental factors. MHCLG has begun to work with relevant bodies to further understand the causes of these issues and consider any changes that can accelerate delivery. Many sites facing those systemic issues will benefit from this work indirectly.”
The team said MHCLG and Homes England are working together to assess what support is possible for specific sites, and where it is best directed to support the Government’s ambition to deliver 1.5m homes during this Parliamentary term.
“The government is prioritising larger sites with the potential to deliver 1,500 homes in or before 2029 in the first instance. The programme may look to support smaller developments where it makes sense to do so, but we are clear that larger sites which can contribute to the 1.5m ambition are the priority,” it added.
The New Homes Accelerator team said: “More generally, the evidence presented through this exercise has been and will continue to be extremely useful in better understanding the issues facing large-scale housing developments, enabling government to act to improve the system. In assessing the sites submitted for intervention, MHCLG and Homes England will be contacting sites which are identified as likely to benefit from support to gather further information and, where it is judged that support will be effective, agree the offer of support.”
