Can Labour’s New Town Plans Ease the Housing Shortage?

As the UK grapples with a modern housing crisis, the concept of new towns is being revisited as a potential solution. The Labour Party’s manifesto promises a “new generation of new towns,” reminiscent of the settlements constructed by the Attlee government post-World War II. However, can these new towns truly address the current housing shortage?

According to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Labour’s new programme aims to create large-scale communities of at least 10,000 homes each, with some towns potentially reaching up to 25,000 dwellings. Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, has tasked Sir Michael Lyons, to Chair an independent New Towns Taskforce to identify appropriate locations and produce a report with recommendations to ministers within the next year. In doing so, the Labour administration, envision that new towns will play a key component to increase housing supply and deliver 1.5 million homes over this parliament.

This ambitious plan, however, lacks a detailed strategy for implementation, leaving many questions unanswered.

Challenges to the New Towns Approach

For one thing, acquiring the necessary land often involves compulsory purchase of farmland or other privately owned properties, a process that can take years with lengthy legal battles over Green Belt protection and infringed rights. The development of new towns requires revisions to local plans, as well as substantial investment in infrastructure, including roads, schools, healthcare facilities, and utilities, all of which need meticulous planning and execution often ahead of any new housing coming forward.

Without adequate infrastructure, new towns risk becoming low-density developments that lack essential amenities. Take Northstowe in Cambridgeshire, for example. Although the site was intended for 10,000 homes, fewer than 1,400 have been completed to date. Residents have raised concerns about the lack of basic services, such as a GP surgery and permanent shops.

A key obstacle is the political resistance to developing on Green Belt land, especially near London, where the housing crisis is most acute. It is highly likely some of the new towns will involve incursions into Green Belt land. Local residents who reside in these areas, have historically opposed such developments, posing a significant challenge to any government attempting to push through large-scale housing projects. Yet, paradoxically, building new towns in the Green Belt close to London could be where they are most needed.

Critics argue that the original new towns were low-density developments, fostering car dependence and sprawling urban designs. Modern new towns would need a radical rethinking to avoid these pitfalls, promoting sustainable, high-density, and well-connected communities with placemaking values at its core. Achieving this will also require collaborative efforts, including community engagement discussions to design neighbourhoods where people genuinely want to live and work. This involves embedding stewardship models into the planning process to encourage public participation and foster a strong sense of community.

Can New Towns Make a Difference?

While new towns have the potential to alleviate some aspects of the housing crisis, their impact is likely to be limited unless accompanied by broader housing policies. The Centre for Cities estimates that to address the housing deficit through new towns alone, 37 new Milton Keynes would need to be built. This is an enormous undertaking, suggesting that new towns alone cannot solve the housing crisis.

To be effective, new towns must be part of a larger, integrated approach to housing policy, including reforms to planning regulations, investment in existing urban areas, and measures to improve housing affordability.

Labour’s plan to establish a new generation of new towns is both bold and ambitious, echoing the transformative efforts of the postwar period. However, the initiative’s success will depend on navigating substantial logistical, environmental, and political hurdles. Whilst new towns will help address the nations future housing supply, it is not a short-term fix, and the current Labour administration will need to pull other policy levels to deliver its 1.5 million housing targets across this parliament.

To effectively tackle the housing crisis, the Labour administration should prioritise unlocking smaller-scale developments that are already in the planning pipeline and allocated in local plans. This approach would help achieve the government’s target of building 300,000 new homes this year. The newly established taskforce has already shown promise by identifying sites like Northstowe, where existing public infrastructure can support accelerated development. However, the government must avoid over-reliance on future new towns as a quick fix for today’s challenges.

A more holistic strategy is needed to address the multifaceted nature of the housing crisis, focusing on creating sustainable, affordable, and vibrant communities across the UK. While new towns may eventually contribute to alleviating the housing shortage, their impact is unlikely to be felt within this parliamentary term, and perhaps not even the next. Immediate action on smaller, viable projects is crucial for making meaningful progress now.