Each new town will have the potential for around 10,000 homes, with a minimum of 40% for affordable housing, along with GP surgeries, schools, libraries and local transport links
Work will begin on three new towns in England within this Parliament to restore the “dream of home ownership” to thousands of families.
Each new town will have the potential for around 10,000 homes, with a minimum of 40% for affordable housing, along with GP surgeries, schools, libraries and local transport links. At least 12 locations have been identified, with Tempsford, in Bedfordshire, Leeds South Bank and Crews Hill, in Enfield, named as the most promising sites.
Some will be large-scale new communities, while others will be regeneration or extension schemes in urban areas. A new crack unit will be set up to fast-track progress by sweeping away red tape and funnelling in private and public sector investment.
Keir Starmer told the Sunday Mirror: “This is about rebuilding our country and restoring the hope of home ownership for millions of people who don’t have it at the moment. It’s central to this notion of taking our country forward and not just fixing the problems that we inherited, but building a better Britain.”
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The next generation of new towns are inspired by the post-war housing boom under Labour PM Clement Atlee. Lessons are also believed to have been taken from the designs of King Charles’s housing developments in Dorset and Cornwall.
It comes as the Government bids to restore faith among voters who feel the state has let them down. Speaking ahead of Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, the Prime Minister said: “Too many people feel that they’re putting in and they’re not getting out their fair share, if you like, and they’ve been doing that for a long time.
“Also the feeling that politics under the last Government didn’t deliver for them, and they want to see that delivery. It’s about restoring hope of a better Britain.”
Newly appointed Housing Secretary Steve Reed will pledge to “do whatever it takes to get spades in the ground” he takes forward the work this week.
Construction is expected to begin on homes in at least three sites by the next election. The Government estimates the project could deliver up to 300,000 homes across the country in the coming decades.
Labour has promised to build 1.5million homes by the end of this Parliament, which Mr Starmer admitted was a tough target.
He said: “It was always stretching. We knew that when we put it in. But you only achieve things if you stretch and have ambition. And therefore we are absolutely intent on reaching this target, absolutely intent it will be the right mix of affordable alongside other housing.”
He said the last Government “snuffed out” the dream of home ownership for a generation of young people.
The PM said: “Home ownership isn’t just about owning the roof over your head, it is a base camp for your opportunity, for your aspiration. When I was growing up we owned our own house.
“That gave me a huge sense of security, because it meant it was our house, it was our front door. We didn’t have a landlord who could throw us out.
“We didn’t have a lot of money, and sometimes we couldn’t pay all the bills, but we knew we had a base camp, and that security is a lifeline.”
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