Sector leaders welcome new towns announcement but warn of viability and infrastructure challenges

Professionals across the built environment have broadly welcomed the government’s new towns announcement but many have warned that developers will need support to ensure viability.

Proposed sites for 12 new towns across the UK were revealed yesterday with housing secretary Steve Reed promising that three of the schemes, which will each contain at least 10,000 homes, will start construction during this parliament.

The proposed developments will range from large-scale standalone communities, such as at Adlington in Cheshire and Marlcombe in Devon, to urban extensions including a planned scheme in Milton Keynes and another in Plymouth.

The three sites set to start first are a new settlement in Tempsford, Bedfordshire, and two extensions, one in Crews Hill, Enfield, and one in Leeds South Bank.

Wei Yang, one of the 10 members of the New Towns Taskforce which recommended sites to the government, said the vision for the schemes is to create “resilient, inclusive, affordable, and sustainable communities where people and nature thrive in harmony”.

Yang, who is also a past president of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), said embedding the highest standards of design, sustainability and well-being would be “essential to ensuring these places are built not only for today, but for generations to come”.

She added that the developments could also be a “blueprint for a brighter future, shaping how we plan, finance, build, and steward sustainable communities at scale.”

But development and masterplanning experts have warned that any large-scale plans, which the taskforce has said should include at least 40% affordable housing, would be challenged by threats to viability including a significant rise in construction costs over the past few years.

Matthew Evans, partner in law firm Forsters’ planning team, said: “All the noise will be around the locations, but how they will be delivered is the crucial question.

“The major question is who is going to fund and deliver the infrastructure to underpin these large housing numbers?”

Patrick Clarke, Aecom masterplanning lead for the UK and Ireland, said Homes England may need to step in to “de-risk” the sites in order to attract private financing and housebuilders.

Clarke said existing social infrastructure in neighbouring communities would also need to be expanded to improve viability and to make affordable housing deliverable.

British Property Federation chief executive Melanie Leech added: “Development viability is under severe pressure across the country because of high materials, construction and capital costs, as well as continuing delays in the planning system and regulatory burdens, and we will need targeted and robust interventions to deliver.”

The taskforce has suggested they should be delivered through development corporations with special powers to grant planning permission and allow compulsory purchase of land.

Clarke said a return to development corporations was “encouraging” given the size of the schemes and the complexity of the sites involved, which span multiple landowners, while Evans questioned whether the powers given to the corporations would be “robust enough to deliver these homes at speed”.

Many experts emphasised the need to build fully fleshed out communities complete with sufficient social infrastructure for the new towns to succeed. 

New RIBA president Chris Williamson said it was “clear that prioritising infrastructure and amenities, guaranteeing a high proportion of social and affordable housing, and taking a considered and deliberate approach to masterplanning are crucial to ensure that places not only meet people’s needs, but improve their lives”.

“Achieving this will require a significant and long-term funding commitment. However, the economic and social gains that these new and revitalised areas could deliver are well worth the investment,” he added.

Mark Washer, chief executive of 85,000-home housing association Sovereign Network Group, said for new towns to be successful ”we must see long-term investment at the heart of these places.”

“The use of urban extensions that harness existing infrastructure is very welcome and will speed up delivery. It’s also essential that existing towns and town centres are revitalised and connected. New and regenerated housing alongside sustainable transport, will unlock economic growth, support thriving town centres, and build communities that thrive for generations. This should be a priority for new funding routes enabled by government.”

Greg Reed, chief executive of Places for People, said new towns “are complex and difficult”, pointed to his organisation’s experience project to build a 10,000-home new town in Hertfordshire.

He said: ”Our experience at Gilston Park, a project with planning consent and strong community support but which continues to be legally challenged by one individual, highlights the challenge of even long-term and well-planned projects.

“To succeed with the next generation of new towns, Government must now ensure legal and planning frameworks are robust, streamlined, and supportive of long-term delivery. As the Prime Minister said, we need unwavering commitment to sweep aside the blockers and get homes built. 

“With our proven track record and community-first approach, we stand ready to be a trusted partner in delivering more new towns at scale and pace.” 

RTPI chief executive Victoria Hills said it was essential to learn lessons from the first wave of new towns, completed in the decades after the Second World War.

“The first wave of new towns showed what can be achieved when government and planners work at scale, but they also highlight the importance of getting design, infrastructure, and community voice right from the very start,” she said. 

“Public support for new towns will depend on learning those lessons and making sure they reflect the aspirations of the people who will live and work in them.” 

Nancy MacDonald, regional business lead for infrastructure in the UK and Ireland at Stantec, said: “Perhaps the most striking feature of these sites is how varied they are. While some good common design principles apply everywhere, it is obvious that this new generation of towns cannot be a copy and paste across the country.

“Creating a community needs a bespoke, future-thinking approach to the site at hand and should consider a wide range of specific but evolving requirements. Delivering 10,000 new homes around Plymouth city centre quite clearly requires a different method to a garden settlement approach at Worcestershire Parkway, for instance.”

One of the largest of the 12 proposed sites is at Victoria North in Manchester, where more than 15,000 homes would be built in the inner-city area as part of an expansion of a regeneration scheme already underway.

Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig said the announcement was a “resounding endorsement” of the Victoria North programme and a “vote of confidence that Manchester, along with our partners, can deliver once-in-a-generation regeneration at this scale.” 

The final new town locations and funding will be confirmed in spring next year after these assessments and consultation.