“It’s not ambitious enough”

For some, the government’s plans for New Towns are wildly ambitious. The idea for 12 major new developments of at least 10,000 homes is one of Labour’s flagship policies. But for at least one person, the target is not stretching enough. 

 

“My strong view is that they need to set a higher threshold of at least 20,000 homes or more,” says Lee Shostak, a specialist in major regeneration projects. 

 

Shostak knows a thing or two about this scale of project. He was one of the driving forces behind the development of Milton Keynes, regarded as the last successful new town to be built in this country. 

 

“For me, 10,000 homes just feels like some well-planned area on the edge of an existing place and won’t bring the full benefits of a New Town,” says Shostak. “It just feels like it’s not ambitious enough.” 

 

 

This threshold is among a myriad of issues that have been thrown up by the idea of New Towns. But the concept itself, of course, is not new. 

 

As Labour has acknowledged, it is drawing inspiration from the post-1945 New Towns. A second wave came in the early 1960s, followed by a third later that decade, which included Milton Keynes.

 

But more recent attempts have failed. And badly. Gordon Brown’s “eco-towns” and David Cameron’s garden cities both fell by the wayside and have led to general cynicism about the idea of mega developments.

 

So what can be learned from the past, and current schemes when it comes to major development? What should the government be aiming for in terms of healthy places? And where can they find inspiration? 

 

Speaking to The Developer, Shostak is clearly proud of what was achieved with Milton Keynes, despite the town’s image problem. Not least because of its propensity of roundabouts. 

 

 

As Bill Bryson once wrote: “I didn’t hate Milton Keynes immediately, which I suppose is as much as you could hope for the place.”

 

But for Shostak, when he worked there, the view was that “all publicity is good publicity.” He adds: “When we put the concrete cows in and they started to attract national press, we were pleased. It helped build the brand and everyone understood it was a new place to come and visit.” 

 

But ultimately he points to its popularity among homebuyers. “Then and now there is very strong demand to buy or rent a house there.” He also points out that the original plan for Milton Keynes did not feature roundabouts. 

 

Would he do anything differently? 

 

“The masterplan did not include design guidance, that came afterwards,” he says. “If I was writing a new masterplan I would include some design guidance. Not a lot, but some to avoid the free-for-all that we had in the early years.”

 

And if he had his time again, Shostak says that he would develop Milton Keynes at “slightly” higher densities. “It would reduce walking distances to local facilities and public transport catchments would have been higher,” he says. 

 

The government New Towns taskforce has already recognised this issue and said that the developments will be built at “higher densities that enables residents to walk to local amenities”. 

 

 

“Within a clear set of expectations set by a national framework, local planning authorities are best placed to make decisions about ways in which to address climate change mitigation and adaptation in their local areas, and therefore the NPPF should be suitably flexible to accommodate this.” 

 

Shostak also points to the importance of public transport. “I would recognise that if we’re looking to build a more equal city then we need to make sure public transport will work for those who do not have access to a car. 

 

“If it’s going to be a city that provides mobility for all, not just for car drivers, you need a better public transport system,” he says. 

 

Shostak even suggests looking to examples like Peachtree City, in Georgia, in the United States. Here, electric golf carts have become the transport of choice. 

 

What else can be learned from people currently involved in developing large developments? 

 

Hugh Petter is masterplanner for Nansledan, in Cornwall. The scheme, which was started in 2013 and will eventually number around 4,000 homes, is an extension to Newquay on land owned mostly by the Duchy of Cornwall. The development, which currently has around 1,200 residents, had its moment of fame in February this year when King Charles led Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner on a tour. 

 

 

Petter, who is design director at ADAM Architecture, points to the importance of long-term strategic planning for these types of schemes. “Once you’ve got that vision, it becomes a magnet for inward investment and a self-fulfilling prophecy,” he says. “People make themselves known to you and say, ’We want to build our supermarket here’ or ‘Our park and ride’.” 

 

Getting your ideas over to the local community is also key, says Petter. “We spent years talking to the community and understanding what their needs were,” he explains. “This is a huge scheme that makes a difference to the economy of the county. It’s become popular and development should be popular if it’s done properly.” 

 

But addressing environmental concerns mean it’s “not enough just to make low carbon houses,” says Petter. He explains: “The place you design lasts forever. So it matters much more that you make a low carbon place that you can walk everywhere. With walking you bump into people, it’s healthier and happier.” 

 

The homes in Nansledan are also built close together for a practical reason, which is a general feature of Cornish towns. “The streets are tight and narrow to give protection from the weather off the Atlantic (Ocean),” says Petter. But it also has positive environmental impacts in other ways. “It naturally makes people drive more slowly. You can only go 10 or 20 miles an hour which means it’s as quick to go by foot or by bicycle.”

 

Some of the streets benefit from the Copenhagen crossing, which prioritises pedestrians and cyclists.

 

Using the local supply chains is also “really valuable”, says Petter. As part of the contracts, housebuilders have to use Cornish materials and labour. 

 

 

At Nansledan, they are also pushing the idea of “tenure-blind” housing. It means that affordable housing has been spread in clusters throughout the scheme. “It makes people in the affordable homes more of an integral part of the community; it makes a much stronger community,” says Petter. 

 

In terms of mistakes, he says they initially underestimated how many residents would be working for themselves and working from home. Some people had nowhere to park a commercial vehicle so they ended up parking on the street. “But when we became aware of that problem each parking court now has a few oversized spaces, so residents can rent the oversized space.” 

 

For others, the key learning from past adventures is to ensure the developments are in a place where demand is high. “There were some (new towns) that were built in the north which as overspill to relocate people from central Manchester, Liverpool out into a new town near Preston,” says Maurice Lange, an analyst at think-tank Centre for Cities. One notable example was Central Lancashire New Town, which included plans to adjoin areas into a city. However the proposal failed.  

 

But Lange says the “ones around London did grow.”

 

He adds: “I wouldn’t see it as being anti the north or the Midlands to say the South is where they need to be.” 

 

The government’s New Towns Taskforce revealed in an interim update in February, that out of more than 100 proposals received the largest number of submissions where in London, the south east, south west, and east of England. However “multiple proposals were received from every region of England”. 

 

It also said that the “majority" of the sites submitted were urban extensions to existing towns or cities. However there was a “smaller number of proposals for new standalone settlements”. Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has also ambitiously stated that he expects work to start on the New Towns by 2029. He has described it as a "transformational programme" that he expects to “make a contribution to housing numbers in this parliament”. How many will contribute to the government’s 1.5 million new homes target is not clear. 

 

 

But Lange agrees that extensions to existing town and cities are the “most sensible way”.  He also argues there’s an environmental argument for expanding existing settlements rather than creating new ones. 

 

“Towns are more likely to be car dependent than larger cities,” he says. “The UK does pretty poorly, even in larger cities, on public transport compared to European cities. These New Town projects could be the catalyst for investment in other transport improvements. Building at appropriate densities is important for sustainability and community vibrancy.”

 

He also agrees that building at higher densities would be best. “The UK generally builds at very low densities by European standards,” says Lange. “Just getting towards where Denmark does on a typical urban extension would be a significant improvement. 

 

“That can mean that you’ve got slightly more space for parks. And potentially you can see New Towns as being something which would set away a UK train where what we build is healthier across the piece.”