Taskforce recommends new town locations

An independent report has recommended 12 locations for potential new towns.

The government has plans to build at least three new towns in this parliament.

The government has published its initial response to the report, welcoming the recommended locations and the wider recommendations on delivery and implementation.

The government has said that locations at Tempsford, Crews Hill and Leeds South Bank look most promising.

A New Towns Unit will be established by the government to progress development. It will work with all departments and their agencies to ensure new towns are a test bed for innovation and to unblock barriers to delivery. 

In its report, the taskforce has recommended a mixture of large-scale communities including urban extensions, urban regeneration, and standalone greenfield sites should be built.

Each new town should have at least 10,000 homes with an ambition for a minimum of 40% affordable housing and half of which will be for social rent.