Built Environment Committee publishes preliminary findings of inquiry
The government’s new towns programme requires “strong and visible” leadership from a dedicated minister, a House of Lords committee has urged.
Building a new generation of new towns was a significant manifesto commitment of the Labour government and last year it set up a taskforce to establish where an initial phase of up to 12 new towns should be located.
With the taskforce’s report set to be released imminently, the Lords’ Built Environment Committee today released the preliminary findings from its inquiry into the government’s plans, also recommending an infrastructure-first approach, with key utilities and amenities put in place at the start.
It urged the government to set a “compelling national vision” for the programme, outlining what they are designed to achieve, with goals looking beyond numerical targets to metrics related to inclusivity, sustainability and improving life chances.
The committee also emphasised the importance of the programme reducing rather than enforcing regional inequalities, suggesting that the bulk should not be concentrated solely in the South East.
It said that the “tried and tested” delivery model of locally-led development corporations should be the default and said that, with regard to finance, it would be essential to bring in patient capital, as well as using land value capture and more novel public finance tools.
Community trusts were also suggested as a way of ensuring that “the benefit of each town’s core assets flows to the community once the initial investment has been repaid”.
On design, the committee said masterplans will need to be “sufficiently detailed to provide certainty to developers and stakeholders”, while building in flexibility. Mandatory basic design standards were also recommended and it said the government needed to set a clear framework for engagement and co-design in order to “build legitimacy and reduce the chances of delay further down the line”. diverse plot sizes to encourage variety, help maintain financial viability, and allow SMEs to participate in delivery.
Lord Gascoigne, chair of the Built Environment Committee, said: “The Government has a major opportunity to deliver high-quality, affordable, and sustainable new towns and expanded settlements at scale.
“However, as it stands, the Government’s programme lacks a clear, engaging vision that provides a rationale for these new towns.
“It needs to explain to the communities that will be impacted and the wider public what new towns are designed to achieve and why they matter.”
Gascoigne said new towns and expanded settlements had “the potential to prompt huge public opposition”, underlining the need for the government to “set out a clear engagement and consult the community in a meaningful way”.
“The common approach of only providing physical, commercial, and social infrastructure once houses are built needs to change. An ‘infrastructure first’ approach should be adopted,” he said.
“Our committee has taken a high-level and strategic approach to assessing and scrutinising the Government’s new towns programme and we look forward to publishing our full report next month.”
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