On 28 September 2025, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the report from the New Towns Taskforce and published its initial response to the report, with a fuller response - including crucially, details on delivery mechanisms - expected in spring 2026. This is all part of the latest set of planning reforms which Savills set out earlier this month.
The New Towns Taskforce, was launched in July 2024, charged with recommending a shortlist of locations for the next generation of new towns – designed to be masterplanned, sustainable and self sufficient, integrating housing, transport, amenities and employment. Savills reported on progress in February.
This is part of the government’s growth agenda and objective to see delivery of 1.5 million new homes in England over the term of this parliament.
Whilst government has warmly welcomed the 12 locations recommended by the Taskforce, no decisions have been taken yet. None of the 12 schemes identified are standalone ‘new towns’ in the conventional sense, but instead comprise a mix of regeneration and new settlement sites.
The Government’s response to the Taskforce’s report is to confirm that Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) will immediately be undertaken on each of the locations to understand the environmental implications of new towns development. Those with memories that go back to regional plans will recall that being location-specific in a strategic document leaves such decisions open to the risk of Judiical review. The SEA is therefore a necessary process albeit, a challenging one, to ensure proper regard of technical and environmental matters. This process may add more detail as each project progresses from the current ‘green blob’ indicating its location to something that is more refined in terms of site boundaries and other parameters. In the interim no final decisions on locations will be made and indeed preferred locations could change as a result of the SEA process. Appropriate assessment under the Habitats Regulations will also be undertaken where required.
Ministers and officials will now begin work with local partners to develop detailed proposals and enhance understanding of how different locations might meet the government’s expectations of what a future New Towns Programme can deliver.
Among the 44 recommendations within the report to government is the suggestion that to ensure control over land and provide the long term certainty and stewardship sought, the starting point for the delivery of all new towns is through the development corporation model.
Development corporations will need further consultation and legislation and should aim to have a local connection with democratic accountability. This is especially relevant during the current period of local government reorganisation and devolution in many parts of England.
The message to local planning authorities is to keep on plan-making, but pending final decision on locations, planning decision makers should give consideration to any potential impacts of other developments on the delivery of the locations for potential new towns.
Government is to consult on revised national policies for plan-making and decision-making later this year. This will include considering how best to support the development of new towns in planning policy.
Development corporations are expected to have compulsory purchase powers, with an aim to acquire land needed for delivery of new towns quickly, efficiently and fairly. The ‘no-scheme principle’ of compensation will apply with potential for a direction not to include ‘hope value’. The proposition is intended to ensure adequate infrastructure and affordable housing is delivered, though this would need to be balanced against bringing forward land quickly and effectively.
There is the intention to publish national planning practice guidance on viability with reference to new towns, and an updated national planning policy framework seems highly likely to be required.
The fuller response from government is expected in spring 2026, including how delivery will interact with local housing need, within the plan-making process and for decision-making. It is notable, for example, that some of the new towns are already in the planning process, such as allocation in emerging local plans. A key question will be whether some (or all) of the homes to be delivered through this programme can count towards local housing or employment requirements.
Moving forward eyes will be on the mechanisms to achieve planning permission. This could be a conventional route via the submission of planning applications to local planning authorities, or through the creation of development corporations, or even an Act of Parliament, i.e. use of a Special Development Order. Use of Development Consent Orders would require a change to the current framework that limits schemes using this process to no more than 500 homes.
The government has already identified Tempsford (Bedfordshire), Crews Hill (Enfield) and Leeds South Bank, as 3 out of the 12 locations capable of delivering new development within this parliamentary period. Key to achieving this will be to ensure the consenting process (whichever route is used) is able to move speedily whilst being also addressing the complexities of such large projects, as well as embedding best practice sustainability, design quality and environmental enhancement. Achieving these objectives and convincing local stakeholders and residents of the benefits, is essential if this programme is to avoid the pitfalls associated with similar past programmes like that for Garden Villages and Eco-Towns.
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