On day one of the Labour Party Conference, Sir Michael Lyons New Towns Taskforce published their final report to Government to much excitement. The Taskforce’s expectation that many of the New Towns will significantly exceed the target of 10,000 homes, and the commitment to place-making, have stoked optimism for the project.
The steps which the Government have so far taken to tackle the housing crisis are welcome and their continued commitment to New Towns will be crucial to this endeavour. We are excited to see these existing measures come together to facilitate this project.
New Towns showed us that, where there is political will and a sense of national mission, the UK delivers, and the potential to tackle this at scale excites me the most. We also know, however, that with an initiative of the ambition and scale of New Towns, there will be bumps in the road. In order to meet and overcome these, the Government must establish long-term partnerships so that momentum continues beyond the current political cycle.
Housing associations must be brought on as partners from the outset. When the original New Towns were established, housing associations were in their infancy, and the overwhelming majority of social and affordable housing was provided and managed by development corporations and local authorities. Yet we now live in a world where, over the last 10 years, housing associations have delivered 80% of all new affordable homes. Without us, the target of 40% affordable homes for New Towns will not be met.
Partnership between developers will also be key to the delivery of New Towns. MTVH has a track record of these partnerships, the largest being Clapham Park in south London, which we are transforming from a 1,968 home estate in need of regeneration into a 4,203 home community. To build at a large scale in the current environment, as Government is planning to, partnerships like these will be needed – to fuel delivery and weather inevitable storms. Partnering with developer Vistry and working strategically with Lambeth Council and the GLA, has enabled us to avoid barriers and build at pace. Using a similar model would be a key facilitator for the governments’ New Towns.
The communities surrounding these New Town sites must also be viewed as partners in their development. Many of the 100 suggested sites are said to be urban extensions to existing towns – therefore it will be vital for ongoing social cohesion that those existing towns are consulted.
We must invite these communities on this journey with us and demonstrate to them that the wonderful things we hope to build and do with New Towns will be accessible and beneficial to the existing community.
At Clapham Park, we have been committed to ensuring that the regeneration is guided by the voices and experiences of local people. As a result, a recent independent social impact assessment found that residents are experiencing measurable improvements to their community and has produced clear recommendations on what would support the community further. Engaging communities in developments, especially on the scale of New Towns, allows us to deliver the change that the community wants.
The New Towns project must follow a similar model – listen to these communities and build the New Towns that they wish to see, to visit and to live in helping to foster mixed tenure communities which are economically resilient, socially inclusive, and future-proof.
Funding which is well co-ordinated and approached with an ethos of partnership will be crucial here.
The original model was state-led, with limited private sector participation. In the current climate it would seem inevitable that this new generation must make better use of wider funding streams and take a more collaborative approach to the funding of New Towns.
The National Housing Bank is expected to support the delivery of over 500,000 homes with £16bn of public investment, and the ability to leverage a further £53bn in private investment. This is a good example of using Government’s financial standing to crowd-in private funds, and a similar approach can be used to ensure New Towns have the diverse funding they need to become, and remain, flourishing communities.
No one organisation can address the housing crisis alone. If New Towns are to be built effectively, be financially sustainable in the long term, and deliver the flourishing communities England wants to see – the foundation must be partnership.