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Government proposes seven New Town locations in England

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The locations of seven new towns have been named by government for consideration as part of their housebuilding programme, set out in a consultation which opened yesterday. However, another five sites have been dropped from their original proposals.

Each proposed location is expected to deliver at least 10,000 homes, with several delivering 40,000 or more in the decades to come. The proposed locations are: 

  • Tempsford, Bedfordshire
  • Crews Hill and Chase Park, Enfield 
  • Leeds South Bank, West Yorkshire
  • Manchester Victoria North, Greater Manchester
  • Thamesmead, Greenwich
  • Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc, South Gloucestershire
  • Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire 

Accompanying the announcement, the government has also published a series of consultations on its new towns programme, including a new towns planning policy with 40% of all new homes expected to be social housing. It is inviting views on:

  • how the new towns draft programme could operate the 7 proposed locations
  • how new towns could be delivered and planned
  • the proposed approach to design and planning policy
  • the government’s offer to locations.

Responding to the announcement, the Housing LIN’s CEO, Jeremy Porteus, said:

“It is worth noting that while the consultation papers refer to balanced communities and social inclusiveness in the overall approach to creating new towns, it is a disappointing that there is no explicit reference to including older people’s housing or age-friendly communities from the outset or giving a steer on the design quality of dwellings expected, especially in relation to accessibility and adaptability of future homes. 

Furthermore, the timing of last week’s APPG Inquiry report on placemaking intergenerationally couldn’t have been better. It includes a section on new towns and provides the evidence on the why’s and how’s of creating intergenerational communities, backed up by 50 recommendations. I therefore urge people to read the report before responding to the government’s consultation.”

The deadline for responses is 19 May 2026 and the consultation can be accessed via the link below.

To read or download the APPG on Housing and Care for Older People Inquiry report, visit the Inquiry’s webpages hosted by the Housing LIN here.

And if you are interested in New Towns generally, the Housing LIN curates a dedicated page here.