The government has unveiled the line-up of its New Towns Taskforce, which includes a host of senior figures from across the planning, architecture and property development sectors.
The taskforce, which met earlier this week for the first time, will be led by chair Sir Michael Lyons and deputy chair Dame Kate Barker.
The other members of the Taskforce are: Bill Hughes (pictured), global head of real assets and co-head of private markets at Legal & General; Dame Diane Coyle, an economist and Bennett professor of public policy at the University of Cambridge; Eamonn Boylan, interim CEO of Manchester City Council and chair of Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation; Helen Gordon, CEO of Grainger; Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation; Nick Raynsford, president of the Town and Country Planning Association; Sowmya Parthasarathy, an architect and urban designer at ARUP; and Dr Wei Yang, a town planner and urban designer.
The group will now push ahead with the government’s vision for new towns, creating large scale communities that can deliver hundreds of thousands of high-quality homes to tackle the national housing crisis and drive economic growth across the country.
Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister, said: “Today marks a momentous step in our journey to deliver the next generation of new towns and transform the lives of millions of working people in every part of the country. We want to see new communities with real character –providing genuinely affordable, safe and secure homes, much-needed infrastructure and well-paying jobs.
“With a strong team of experts standing by his side, I have every confidence in Sir Michael’s leadership and his taskforce is working at pace to make sure our long-term ambition becomes a reality. The taskforce’s mission is already underway, with members leading a series of work streams, and set to report back in 12 months.
“Its areas of work will include: identifying and reviewing high potential locations for new towns; agreeing principles and standards that must be met to provide good quality places; exploring new ways to attract future funding and investment; [and] finding practical solutions to remove barriers that will unlock the delivery of new towns. This work will form the publication of the final report due to land on ministers’ desks next year, with plans to engage with mayors, local leaders and communities in the coming months.”
Matthew Pennycook, housing and planning minister, added: “I am really pleased that the New Towns Taskforce has held its first meeting today. It brings together a wealth of experience from across the industry, and I look forward to engaging with it over the months ahead as it works to identify the most suitable locations across the country for large-scale new communities.
“Today’s meeting also confirmed working arrangements for the taskforce who will report back to the deputy prime minister on a monthly basis, and they will be supported by officials across the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Homes England every step of the way. This involves the creation of a New Towns Code that developers will have to follow to ensure new towns are great places to live and will include the golden rule of 40% affordable housing.
Sir Michael Lyons said: “I am very pleased to chair the first meeting of the taskforce today. We have an important agenda to work through over the next 12 months to ensure that the next generation of new towns deliver the government’s plans for economic growth and housing ambitions. I look forward to working with our very experienced taskforce members to provide the government with robust recommendations within a year.
“The government is already taking immediate action to ramp up housing supply and boost economic growth by reintroducing mandatory housing targets for councils through an updated National Planning Policy Framework to help deliver 1.5 million homes over the next five years.
“Large housing sites facing blockages in the development system will also be fast-tracked through the New Homes Accelerator programme, which will see planning experts deployed on the ground to support local councils and housebuilders to get Britain building again. This is alongside the landmark £150m partnership recently signed by Homes England to act as a master developer that will unlock large scale brownfield developments across the country, ranging from 1,000 to more than 10,000 homes.”
