As part of its pledge to provide 1.5 million homes, the Government is planning on building new towns across the UK.

So far, some 100 local authorities have submitted proposals, each consisting of more than 10,000 homes. The initiative forms a key part of what Prime Minister Keir Starmer describes as “the largest housebuilding programme since the post-war era.”

The designs will be inspired by principles seen in King Charles’s popular Nansledan development in Cornwall, where local demand has increased the planned number of homes from 400 to 4,000.

During a recent visit with the King, Starmer was said to have been impressed by the development’s quality and variety, particularly how social housing was almost indistinguishable from private homes.

In order to get the go-ahead for new towns, local authorities must demonstrate both housing need and community support in their applications to the Secretary of State, with proposals requiring extensive preparatory work and evidence of the land’s suitability for development.

Unblocking development

Once approved, development corporations will be established to oversee the construction and management of each new town.

While most applications have come from London, the South and East of England, with Tempsford in Bedfordshire tipped as a likely early candidate, proposals have been received from every region in England.

Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner emphasised the urgency of the issue, saying the Government had inherited a situation that “has left thousands of families on housing waiting lists, allowed homelessness to spiral out of control, and stopped an entire generation from picking up the keys to their first home.”

Starmer has pledged to make it happen he will “take on the NIMBYs and the blockers” and the government claims it has already “unblocked” 20,000 houses since July 2024 and plans to unlock another 700,000 homes across 350 sites.