Three new towns to begin this parliament after taskforce names 12 locations

Sir Keir said: “For so many families, homeownership is a distant dream. My Labour government will sweep aside the blockers to get homes built, building the next generation of new towns.”

The independent report on the New Towns Taskforce, commissioned last year, was also published yesterday, recommending 12 potential locations for new towns.

Each town will have at least 10,000 homes and collectively the towns could deliver up to 300,000 homes across the country over the coming decades. 

The government has welcomed the taskforce’s recommended ambition for a minimum of 40% affordable housing, half of which will be for social rent, and welcomed the recommendation for development corporations to deliver new towns. 

These could have special planning powers to compulsory purchase land, invest in local GPs and schools and grant planning permission.

Mr Reed said: “We will fight for hard working people, locked out of a secure home for too long by the Conservative government of blockers. This Labour government won’t sit back and let this happen. I will do whatever it takes to get Britain building. We’ve got to build, baby, build.

“That’s the way we put the key to a decent home in the pocket of everyone who needs a secure and affordable home. And not just homes, but communities, and not just communities but entire towns.

“This party built new towns after the war to meet our promise of homes fit for heroes. Now, with the worst economic inheritance since that war, we will once again build cutting-edge communities to provide homes fit for families of all shapes and sizes.

“I am launching the next generation of new towns taking the lessons from the post-war Labour government housing boom… mobilising the full power of the state to build a new generation of new towns and restore the dream of homeownership to thousands of families across the country.”

The housing secretary confirmed he is also working on a “building acceleration package” which will include working with the Mayor of London to restart house building in the capital and to help clear the Building Safety Regulator’s backlog.

All sites and reasonable alternatives for new towns, as well as place-making principles, will be subject to environmental assessment and consultation, with the government confirming the final new town locations and funding in spring next year.

The plans are announced around a week after the the House of Lords Built Environment Committee criticised the government’s plan for new towns and expanded settlements, describing it as lacking “a clear, engaging vision”.

The cross-party inquiry also previously heard why it would be difficult for housing associations to take on affordable homes built in new towns if the government sticks to its target of 40%.

Another session at the BEC inquiry warned that appointing mayoral development corporations to deliver new towns would be inadvisable due to a lack of central government responsibility.

The 12 proposed locations are: 

• A standalone settlement in Adlington, Cheshire East, to serve the growing industries in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
• A corridor of connected development in South Gloucestershire, across Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc, in one of the highest productivity areas in the country.
• An expanded development bringing together Chase Park and Crews Hill in Enfield, delivering green development and helping address London’s acute housing need.
• Redevelopment of the former airbase at Heyford Park in Cherwell, near Oxford, building on the existing progress and commitment to high-quality placemaking in the area.
• Development in Leeds, capturing the benefits of the government’s £2.1bn local transport funding allocation for the combined authority by delivering well-connected, high-quality homes in the South Bank to support the city centre.
• Densification in Manchester, Victoria North, supporting continued growth and attracting highly skilled workers to service the city’s diverse industries.
• A standalone settlement in Marlcombe, East Devon, strengthening the region’s labour supply and supporting the Exeter and East Devon Enterprise Zone.
• A renewed town in Milton Keynes, expanding to the city periphery while reshaping the way people travel, by delivering a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system.
• Densified development in Plymouth, capitalising on the government’s £4.4bn investment in HMNB Devonport, Western Europe’s largest naval base.
• A new settlement in Tempsford, Bedfordshire, to maximise the benefits of East West Rail, building a sustainable, well-connected new town in the heart of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.
• The creation of a riverside settlement in Thamesmead, Greenwich, unlocking inaccessible land in the city and improving connectivity if the proposed extension of the Docklands Light Railway can be delivered to enable the development.
• Expanded development at Worcestershire Parkway, Wychavon, accelerating delivery around the existing train station to help meet regional housing need.