New Towns – designation, design and delivery
7th October, 2025
The government's plan to create the next generation of New Towns has taken a major step forward after its specialist taskforce identified twelve priority sites for development.
In this article, Alexander Rose looks into what this means and explores some of the legal issues that are likely to arise as the proposals move into the delivery phase.
Which locations have been recommended for “New Towns”?
The New Towns Taskforce was established in July 2024 to identify:
- the prime locations for the next generation of New Towns (developments involving the creation of at least 10,000 homes); and
- how these developments can be designed to “help meet England’s housing needs while creating thriving, sustainable communities“.
In late September 2025, after considering over 100 locations, the taskforce recommended New Towns be created at the following sites:
- Adlington, Cheshire East;
- Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc, South Gloucestershire;
- Chase Park and Crews Hill, Enfield;
- Heyford Park, Cherwell;
- South Bank, Leeds;
- Victoria North, Manchester;
- Marlcombe, Devon;
- North-East Milton Keynes;
- Plymouth; Devon,
- Tempsford, Central Bedfordshire;
- Thamesmead, Greenwich; and
- Worcestershire Parkway, Wychavon
It also published ten principles of placemaking which taskforce argued should be followed to ensure “new towns provide suitable homes for all parts of the community”.
What happens next?
The government has acknowledged the taskforce’s recommendations within the report but has not formally reached a decision on the location or number of New Towns.
Instead the government plans to conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment (“SEA”) to better understand the environmental implications of each of the proposals put forward. Once this process is complete, the government anticipates publishing its draft proposals for the New Towns initiative alongside the SEA as part of an open consultation exercise. Only once this consultation is complete will a final decision on New Towns be made by the government.
This means high profile applications such as North Liverpool, South Norfolk and Winslow that were not chosen by the taskforce could feasibly be added to the shortlist for investment – although at this stage such a decision does appear highly unlikely.
What will happen once a final decision is reached?
Once a formal decision is made by the government there will be a push to start the development of the New Towns as quickly as possible.
This is because increasing housing supply has been promoted as a national priority by the Prime Minister. The Labour Manifesto included a pledge to build 1.5m new homes before the end of this Parliament (most likely to be August 2029) and the New Towns initiative is likely to come to symbolise the progress made in delivering upon this commitment.
The importance of delivering more housing can be seen in the statements made the new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed OBE – he has said his mantra in office will be “build, baby, build” and that he will use “every lever available” to “get Britain building“.
When the preferred sites for New Towns were announced, Steve Reed was pushed on the timing. He said he expects to see ‘spades in the ground’ at some of the chosen sites by the next election. It has been widely reported that this refers to three of the locations – Tempsford, Crews Hill and Leeds South Bank.
Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, has gone further stating in early October 2025, that “we want to take forward a far larger number than that three that we’ve identified, but we’re absolutely committed to get spades in the ground on at least three.”
Therefore from the moment that the New Towns locations are confirmed, there will be a push to start delivering. This is the case even though only a few of the c. 300,000 new housing units that will be created through the New Towns initiative are expected to be ready by the next election.
The challenge of delivering New Towns
Delivering New Towns is a bold and ambitious policy – the government is clear that the aim is not simply to build additional housing stock but instead to “create thriving communities which will have the supporting social and economic infrastructure and public services and amenities they require established from the outset“.
Such ambition requires careful planning. Local authorities will be expected to take the lead in the initial stages of planning and preparation, but to do so in partnership with local stakeholders, Homes England and the government’s specialist New Towns unit.
Development Corporations
Although the preparatory stage is expected to be primarily handled by local authorities, the lion’s share of the work of delivering the New Towns is expected to be undertaken by development corporations established for this purpose.
Development corporations are statutory bodies that are able to take on powers and functions from other parts of the State in order to take forward the regeneration of a particular area.
The New Towns of the 1940s and 1950s were primarily delivered by development corporations. For this next generation of new towns, the taskforce anticipates that development corporations will be the “preferred instrument of delivery” because they will “bring skills and increased confidence as well as reflecting government commitment“.
There are different models of development corporation. In areas that have benefited from devolution deals, it seems likely that Mayoral Development Corporations will be created. In areas without a Metro Mayor, it seems likely that New Town Development Corporations or Locally-Led Urban Development Corporations will be established. Whichever model is chosen, care will need to be taken to ensure that robust governance arrangements are in place, but also that the development corporation has the skills and resources to deliver the functions it has taken on.
Public funding to unlock private sector development
Public funding will be used to make the development of the New Towns sites sufficiently attractive for the private sector to step in.
At the outset, public funding will be to finance master plans and to assemble sites (through the pooling of existing land in the ownership of the public sector, negotiated acquisitions and, by exception, compulsory purchase orders).
Public funding will also be used to invest in new roads and other transport infrastructure, install utilities and to de-risk sites (for example addressing abnormal conditions).
At this stage, the government has not announced a grant funding programme specifically to accelerate the development of New Towns sites. However, the government’s response to the taskforce report states that public funding will be made available for delivery on sites too with support from “funding across the government’s landmark housing programmes, such as the £39 billion Social and Affordable Housing Programme, hundreds of millions of grant from the National Housing Delivery Fund, and additional capital funding managed by the National Housing Bank“. The response goes on to state that “the establishment of new towns will also be factored into the future spending plans of other departments and regulators, ensuring they have the utilities, transport, and social infrastructure needed for the community to thrive“.
One element where public funding is expected is social and affordable housing provision. The government has expressed a hope that 40% of new housing will be provided upon social or affordable housing terms. The taskforce expressly states that this will require public funding, with the £39bn allocation made in the July 2025 Spending Review expected to be used, in part, for this purpose.
Legal issues arising from the New Towns programme
Delivering New Towns will involve detailed legal advice. At the preparation stage, detailed checks will need to be undertaken in and around the sites to understand issues that could jeopardise or slow down delivery.
Experts will need to be procured to work on the masterplans, but there will also need to be extensive planning applications and consultations. Development corporations will need to be established with robust governance procedures.
Whenever public funding is used checks will need to be undertaken to ensure compliance with Subsidy Control law. It will also be necessary to work closely with public authorities to ensure that developers deliver housing of sufficient quality.
Although complex, the legal issues appear manageable provided that each of the steps is approached methodically and in the correct sequence.
Conclusion
For years, the UK has failed to build sufficient numbers of houses. Therefore Labour’s New Town initiative is much needed, but also bold and ambitious. However because of the importance of this policy, there will be immediate political pressure from the outset to act quickly to hit targets. Therein lies the challenge for those involved in delivering New Towns.
Ward Hadaway is the first choice legal adviser for many businesses involved in receiving public funding, but also public authorities delivering landmark projects. If you’re involved in the New Towns initiative and would benefit from legal assistance, please do get in touch.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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