The Government has committed to progressing work on the next generation of new towns across England, following the New Towns Taskforce's final report published on 28 September 2025 recommending 12 locations. The Government is determined to begin building in at least three new towns in this Parliament and the response identifies Tempsford, Crews Hill and Leeds South Bank as the most promising sites at this stage, with these locations designated as priority projects for immediate progression through the planning and development corporation establishment process.
Each new town will deliver at least 10,000 homes with a collective target of 300,000 homes across all 12 schemes, featuring a minimum of 40% affordable housing of which at least half will be for social rent.
This represents the most ambitious new towns programme since the post-war era, requiring significant innovation in legal frameworks, planning mechanisms and financing structures to achieve delivery within this Parliament.
New towns of the past
New towns have a long history in the UK. The Labour manifesto promised to revitalise the successful post-war "New Towns" programme, which delivered over 500,000 new homes between 1946 and 1970 under the New Towns Act 1946. This period was the heyday for new towns, delivering 32 new towns across the UK – including Stevenage (the first new town delivered under the programme), Basildon, Harlow and Milton Keynes.
Since then, successive governments have attempted to revitalise new towns in various guises, such as New Labour's "eco-towns" and David Cameron's "garden towns and villages" but these programmes were widely criticised for falling significantly short of their delivery ambitions.
What are new towns?
Despite the different names for them, the key underlying principles are the same. The aim of new towns is to enable new homes to be built alongside the infrastructure, transport links and public services required for a sustainable community to thrive. A new town takes a more holistic, neighbourhood-based approach to urban development, sometimes across multiple authority boundaries, by joining up planning powers, new funding streams and government support to de-risk sites and deliver at scale.
This type of placemaking requires significant government intervention (either at national or local level) to drive development with clear strategic objectives. Under Labour's programme, these objectives include: quality design standards, climate resilience and net-zero carbon targets, meaningful community engagement from the outset, housing affordability (with a minimum 40% affordable housing requirement), revitalised town centres, and long-term legacy stewardship arrangements. Labour have indicated a desire to work in partnership with local leaders and communities on new towns, although they can also be led purely by central government.
Key features of Labour's new towns programme
Labour's new towns programme incorporates several distinctive features that differentiate it from previous initiatives, building on lessons learned from earlier schemes while introducing new requirements aligned with contemporary policy priorities. The programme emphasises environmental sustainability, with each new town required to meet net-zero carbon standards from the outset and incorporate green infrastructure throughout, including sustainable drainage systems, green corridors and biodiversity net gain.
Community engagement is prioritised from the earliest planning stages, with existing residents, future residents and local stakeholders involved in design, master planning and governance decisions through formal consultation processes. The programme mandates mixed-tenure housing developments (including social rent, affordable home ownership and market housing) to ensure social integration across different income levels, and requires comprehensive transport connectivity to existing urban centres, including public transport links and active travel infrastructure.
Legal mechanisms to deliver new towns
Development corporations are the primary legal mechanism used to deliver new towns in the UK. These are independent statutory bodies established by the Government under specific legislation for the purpose of delivering a new town. Armed with numerous powers over planning and delivery (and in particular compulsory purchase powers), they provide a single designated body to oversee the entire new town development, in order to streamline the process and leverage in funding and private sector involvement.
Traditionally, development corporations are governed by the New Towns Act 1981 and established and led by central government, but as part of its levelling up agenda, the previous government introduced new legislation which also enables local authorities to create and oversee locally-led new town development corporations.
Whilst development corporations under the New Towns Act 1981 tend to be the conventional mechanism for delivering new towns, they are by no means the only option available. For one it is possible to establish other types of development corporations (with different powers and structures) pursuant to other legislation, such as Urban Development Corporations. Other governance arrangements entirely may be more suitable, depending on the objectives of the relevant authorities, such as purpose driven delivery companies, joint planning committees and joint venture development partnerships.
Powers and Capabilities of Development Corporations
Development corporations possess extensive statutory powers that enable comprehensive new town delivery. These include compulsory purchase powers to assemble land, planning powers to grant permission for development, and financial powers to borrow money and enter into commercial arrangements. They can also establish subsidiary companies, enter into joint ventures with private developers, and coordinate infrastructure delivery across multiple agencies. Importantly, development corporations have powers to override local planning policies where necessary to achieve new town objectives, though this must be exercised in accordance with statutory consultation requirements and national planning policy.
Latest developments and what's next?
New Towns Taskforce led by Sir Michael Lyons and Dame Kate Barker, published their final report on 28 September 2025 recommending 12 locations across England for New Towns. The Government has committed to the following:
- A "New Towns Code" will ensure that development will be well-designed and include an aim of a minimum 40% for affordable housing of which half will focus on social rent.
- Each new town will be at least 10,000 homes but some will be much larger.
- A "New Towns Code" will ensure that development will be well-designed and include an aim of a minimum 40% for affordable housing of which half will focus on social rent.
- Three priority sites (Tempsford, Crews Hill, Leeds South Bank) will begin construction before the end of the Parliament.
- A Strategic Environmental Assessment is underway to determine final site designations.
The new towns programme requires substantial public and private investment, with the Government exploring innovative financing mechanisms to support delivery. This includes potential use of development corporation borrowing powers, land value capture mechanisms, and public-private partnerships. The Government has indicated that new towns will be expected to achieve financial self-sufficiency over time through land sales and development receipts, following the successful model of post-war new towns. Infrastructure funding will likely combine central government investment, local authority contributions, and developer contributions secured through planning obligations.
The Government is expected to introduce new legislation to streamline the new towns delivery process, potentially including reforms to compulsory purchase procedures and enhanced development corporation powers. The Taskforce's report recommends a hybrid delivery approach mixing central, mayoral and local delivery models with enhanced focus on placemaking, community involvement and environmental sustainability. The Government has committed to providing a comprehensive response to these recommendations by Spring 2026, which will set out the detailed legislative and policy framework for the new towns programme.
If you have any queries regarding New Towns, please contact Jessica Arczynski or Amardeep Gill.
