The new towns initiative, part of Labour’s plans to build 1.5m new homes in their first term, comes after years in which England has built too few houses to meet demand, but the government is still likely to face fierce opposition.
Up to 12 new towns will be under construction by the next election after 100 potential locations in England were identified as part of Keir Starmer’s promise to deliver the largest housebuilding programme since the postwar era.
The new towns would be led by regional development corporations, with an initial injection of public funding to buy land which would be returned after sites had been sold at a higher value to private developers, in part to pay for infrastructure.
However, the prime minister did not rule out that some of the new towns, expected to be in areas where there is highest demand, could be built on greenbelt land, adding that ministers would take a “brownfield first” approach and “try to protect the beauty of the countryside”.
Each new town will have the potential for at least 10,000 homes with accompanying infrastructure, as the government promised to sweep away red tape and overcome environmental objections to get them built.
