Now that the government has identified seven locations for a new generation of new towns, the idea of large-scale settlement building is moving from policy ambition to reality. For the built environment sector, the conversation is shifting quickly from whether new towns should be built to the more practical question of how they can be delivered successfully.

Over the past months, Metropolitan Workshop has been exploring that question through a series of roundtables with planners, developers, delivery specialists and viability experts. The discussions examined the legacy of the UK’s first generation of new towns and asked what lessons should shape the next. 

The conclusions were clear that, if this next wave of new towns is to succeed, delivery structures, governance and long-term stewardship will matter just as much as the scale of housing numbers attached to them.