The New Towns Taskforce has published its final report, recommending 12 sites for the building of new towns in England.
The proposals will first need to be accepted by Housing Secretary Steve Reed with up to 201,000 homes due to be built under the plans.
The 12 sites for consideration are:
- Adlington, Cheshire East (14,000-20,000 homes, 970 ha)
- Crews Hill & Chase Park, Enfield (Up to 21,000 homes, 884 ha)
- Heyford Park, Oxfordshire (13,000 homes, 505 ha)
- Leeds South Bank (Up to 13,000 homes, 258 ha)
- Victoria North, Manchester (15,000 homes, 155 ha)
- Thamesmead Waterfront, Greenwich (15,000 homes, 100 ha)
- Worcestershire Parkway (10,000+ homes, 1,130 ha)
- Brabazon & West Innovation Arc (North Bristol) (40,000+ homes, land take not specified)
- Marlcombe, East Devon (10,000 homes, land take not specified)
- Milton Keynes (Renewed Town) (Up to 40,000 homes, land take not specified)
- Plymouth (10,000 homes, land take not specified)
- Tempsford, Bedfordshire (40,000+ homes, land take not specified)
“The NFU has serious concerns that the construction of these new towns will have a significant impact on the great British countryside and rural communities.”
NFU Vice-president Rachel Hallos
What happens next?
Once the Minister has accepted sites for development, a round of development corporations will be set up for each site. The quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations will have full planning powers while the towns are built out, acting as temporary local planning authorities.
Along with the new housing, infrastructure and commercial developments will be planned and built out to support the new communities. As with the model of development in this country, building will be carried out majorly by private firms, which will fund the development of the new towns.
The new towns will be a mixture of greenfield developments (new towns sprouted on undeveloped land), urban extensions (new suburbs), as well as brownfield redevelopments (similar to the London Docklands redevelopment).
Responding to the plans, NFU Vice-president Rachel Hallos said: “As we have previously pointed out to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the NFU has serious concerns that the construction of these new towns will have a significant impact on the great British countryside and rural communities.
“That’s why we are calling for transparency and for productive farmland to be protected wherever possible. We will continue to engage with government to ensure the needs of farmers and landowners are being heard.”
The NFU will continue to raise the concerns of farmers and rural communities to ensure that their wishes and needs are met by the drive to deliver greater housing supply. The NFU will be engaging with the government, as well as national and regional stakeholders to strive for the best outcomes for agricultural and rural communities.
Are you affected?
The NFU will continue to provide updates on the programme and continually push to ensure that the government hears the needs of farmers and landowners across the country.
Though detail remains limited, and the NFU is urging members who believe they may be affected – particularly those near expanding urban centres or holding large parcels of undeveloped land – to contact CallFirst or their local NFU representative.
The NFU will continue pushing for clarity and a commitment to protect productive farmland wherever possible.
