Why New Towns require a shared vision

Perhaps the most pressing matter facing the built environment is how we should rise to the housing challenge set by the Labour government. 

The UK faces a growing housing crisis. With a backlog of around 4.3 million homes that are missing from the national housing market, and only 221,070 net additional dwellings built in 2023-24, there is a significant gap in our capacity to deliver desperately needed homes. 

The scale of this challenge demands a similar response in kind. As such, the government has committed to the delivery of multiple new towns: housing developments of 10,000-plus homes. The New Towns Taskforce, set up last year, is now establishing the best locations for these developments. 

Sir Michael Lyons, chair of the taskforce, spoke at last month’s UKREiiF on the future of new town planning and delivery. His speech made clear that the successful delivery of new towns rests on putting in place the right partnerships that provide confidence to invest accordingly to create sustainable, resilient communities. We expect this to be a key feature in the taskforce’s upcoming report. 

For many, this signals a new age for public-private funding partnerships, improving on models such as the private finance initiative or the regulated asset base. Indeed, with the upcoming Spending Review, there is a high chance these will feature in Labour’s plans for providing financial resilience for new town planning. They would sit alongside its confirmed commitments to funding Euston station and the Lower Thames Crossing using private finance. 

Looking beyond funding 

While these agreements will be essential in delivering new towns, we need to go much further to reflect the scale of the challenge and opportunity. 

The taskforce’s report in July will set out the first 12 sites. With each taking 10 to 20 years to deliver and costing at least £3bn to £4bn according to recent estimates, we need to look beyond funding alone. Robust delivery partnership models can establish long-term governance structures, promoting the right behaviours to see a new towns programme from inception through to completion. 

Partnership structures such as development corporations can unite teams under a shared vision and strategy, more confidently direct funding focused on housing delivery and manage the ownership and sharing of risk, all while bringing in private sector expertise throughout a programme. 

If we set up new town delivery teams in this way, uniting the right experience and leadership under a shared goal, there is a massive opportunity not only to deliver outstanding developments but also to transform how we shape places large and small long into the future. 

However, this can only be achieved if we can approach the nationwide new towns agenda collectively, instead of seeing each as a one-off project. 

It is sometimes tempting to see the kind of megaproject success required for each new town as exceptional instead of an integral part of their delivery. Research into projects around the world valued at over $1bn (£740m) shows that over nine out of 10 of them run over time and over budget. 

The new towns vision offers a generational opportunity to change this narrative. There will be up to 12 development sites aiming for similar outcomes around creating sustainable, resilient communities that provide lasting legacies for local people. Collectively, new towns leadership can share experiences in creating economies that support housing purchases and grow local markets for housing purchases. This will support how other new town schemes are delivered, as well as set standards for how to inspire investor confidence in wider housing development plans. 

The government’s new towns agenda is bold, ambitious and undoubtedly daunting for our industry. However, with the right delivery partnerships in place and a shared commitment to sharing lessons learned along the way, we can deliver exceptional housing and placemaking outcomes for local people now and for years to come. 

This article was first published in Property Week.