Today, the government announced seven areas proposed as locations for New Towns as part of the most ambitious housebuilding programme in more than half a century.
There has been positive widespread coverage of the announcement with The Timescalling the establishment of the new towns a “housebuilding bonanza”, framing the announcement as part of the biggest housing push in over 50 years. The Secretary of State was quoted directly, noting that this is about “planning whole communities” rather than just building homes.
The Financial Times focuses on five sites that have been “cut” from the shortlist of new towns to leave “just seven”, highlighting the excluded sites were still deemed to be “credible development opportunities” and existing housing programmes could provide support. The paper reported each new town will commit to at least 10,000 homes, with a 40% social housing target, highlighting Steve Reed’s words and noting that additional advisors have been appointed to the New Towns unit, whilst a National Housing Bank will be given the go-ahead in April, providing up to £16bn of financial capacity.
The Mirrorsimilarly reported positively on the news, with the headline highlighting the seven new towns will be a “boost for housing.” The coverage also details the proposed locations of the new towns as well as some of the names under consideration, such as Elizabethtown.
The Telegraph also publishes a positive piece online, reporting that a town named after the late Queen could be among seven built under Labour’s plans to deliver 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament, outlining no decisions had been taken on the names, which would be subject to local consultation.
The Guardian reports that the area selection for proposed new towns include under-developed inner-city land, a historic village and an existing new town. Coverage states that the new towns are intended to be designed in a coordinated way, with schools, access to healthcare, public transport links and walking and cycling paths to be created at the same time as the homes. The piece goes on to note that one of the proposed towns will expand upon an existing community, as was the case with new towns built post-WW2, while five others are set to be built within or on the edge of cities, including London.
There was further coverage in the Sun, the Daily Mail and Metro. The Housing and Planning Minister was also asked about the programme during this morning’s media round.