Ministers confirm locations for seven new towns in England | Housing
Ministers confirmed the locations of seven new towns, including inner-city underdeveloped land, a historic village and an existing new town.
The scheme is being billed by the department for housing and communities as the most ambitious housebuilding project in England for half a century, with plans to build between 15,000 and 40,000 homes in each new town.
It is aimed to design new cities in a coordinated manner, with schools, access to health services, public transport connections, walking and cycling paths to be created simultaneously with houses.
As with the new towns built over several generations after World War II, only one location will be created around a small existing community.
Up to 40,000 homes are planned around the Bedfordshire village of Tempsford, near the A1, with new building on a former RAF base.
It will also feature a major station interchange that will connect the adjacent east coast main line to a new east-west link between Cambridge and Oxford.
Five of the projects are located in or on the edges of major cities, including two in London. Up to 21,000 homes are planned in the new town of Crews Hill and Chase Park in Enfield at the capital’s northern tip, and 15,000 homes are planned in Thamesmead in south-east London, supported by the expansion of the Docklands Light Railway.
Two of the urban projects will be relatively central: Victoria North in Manchester, with around 15,000 homes; and Leeds South Bank, where 20,000 homes are planned. The area of 40,000 homes, unceremoniously named Brabazon and West Innovation Arc, is located north of Bristol.
The final project will include 40,000 new homes in Milton Keynes, now a city, created from Buckinghamshire farmland and villages as one of the second generation of post-war new towns.
Among the seven locations chosen were: Shortlist of 12 people It was announced in September. The other five locations – Adlington in Cheshire; Heyford Park in Oxfordshire; Marlcombe in East Devon; Plymouth; and Wychavon Town on the edge of Worcester – will not be new towns but will be eligible for support through other means, such as South Barking, the 13th location in London’s east end.
Steve Reed said the plan “marks a turning point in how we build for the future”.
The housing secretary said: “From start to finish, we are planning entire communities with homes, jobs, transport links and green spaces designed together – so we can offer families the security and opportunities they deserve.”
