Planners say new towns lack ambition

Senior planners who were involved in building Britain's post-second world war new towns have raised concerns about the government's 21st-century new towns programme, criticising a lack of ambition and weak commitment to social housing.

- Jessica Murray Social affairs correspondent

Lee Shostak, a former director of planning at Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) in the 1970s and later a chair of the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), said the current plan for the new towns may not actually help people who need homes the most.

He said that while Milton Keynes had been designed to ease the housing burden in London with a large stock of council homes, there was a risk Labour's new towns would not alleviate social housing waiting lists in big cities.

“There’s talk about 40% of the homes as affordable housing, most of which will not be social housing and there’s no indication whatsoever those homes will be available for people moving from London or other urban areas,” said Shostak.

“So the very basic, simple premise that kickstarted the original new towns programme isn't being followed through today.

No one is addressing the question: if you can't afford to buy, will you be able to move to a new town?In September, the government's new towns taskforce published a list of 12 potential locations for the next generation of new towns, as part of the prime minister's commitment to building 1.5m homes and solving the country's housing crisis.

Keir Starmer said he wanted to begin building at least three new towns this parliament.