The housing office has announced seven new towns to be built across England
Leeds South Bank skyline – file picture(Image: Ellwood PR)
A whole new town will be coming to Leeds with 20,000 homes as part of a huge goverment project.
The Leeds South Bank area has been singled out, captialising on the government’s £2.1 billion local transport investment. It comes as one of seven new town locations announced today on Sunday, March 22, named for consideration as part of the most ambitious housebuilding programme in more than half a century.
Leeds South Bank is south of the River Aire and close to the city centre. This comes after numerous development have been announced in the area in the past decade as part of the £350 million the Leeds South Bank project.
Built from the ground up, the new towns will invlude “well-connected new communities with homes, jobs, schools, green space and transport links planned from the start,” say teh government. Each proposed location is expected to deliver at least 10,000 homes, with several delivering 40,000 or more in the decades to come.
These towns will be designed for modern, everyday life – with neighbourhoods that people can easily get around without a car, shared green spaces and vibrant high streets.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: “People want real change – homes they can afford, local infrastructure that works, and good jobs in thriving communities.
“Our next generation of new towns marks a turning point in how we build for the future. From the ground up, we’re planning whole communities with homes, jobs, transport links, and green spaces designed together — so we can give families the security and opportunities they deserve.”
Building on the success seen in Stratford through the London Legacy Development Corporation and elsewhere, some new development corporations will also be stood up to support the delivery of these new towns.
As set out in the proposed placemaking principles, these new towns will create affordable and balanced communities with the schools, health facilities and community infrastructure neighbourhoods need, supported by high quality public transport and walking and cycling infrastructure.
To ensure that new towns are built in a holistic way, that meets communities’ growing needs, government is taking a cross-government approach to ensure the utilities, health, education, and digital infrastructure to underpin new towns from the outset.
The other proposed locations are:
Tempsford, Bedfordshire — up to 40,000 homes built around a new East West Rail station, linking residents to Cambridge, Oxford, London and Milton KeynesCrews Hill and Chase Park, Enfield — up to 21,000 homes helping to meet London’s acute housing needManchester Victoria North, Greater Manchester — at least 15,000 homes regenerating the heart of Greater Manchester, with a new Metrolink stop connecting residents to jobs across the cityThamesmead, Greenwich — up to 15,000 homes unlocking inaccessible riverside land in London, enabled by the planned Docklands Light Railway extensionBrabazon and the West Innovation Arc, South Gloucestershire — up to 40,000 homes at the heart of a world-class research and advanced engineering economyMilton Keynes, Buckinghamshire — building on its history as one of the original new towns, to take forward the ‘renewed town’ vision to expand the city by around 40,000 homes and reinvigorate the centre with a new local transport system, boosting connectivity in the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor
To drive forward delivery, four interim advisers have been appointed to support the New Towns Unit:
Lyn Garner, former Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation;Ian Piper, former Chief Executive of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation;Emma Cariaga, Chief Operating Officer of British Land;David Rudlin, Founding Principal of Rudlin & Co and principal author of the UK Government’s National Model Design Code
Get all the latest and breaking news in Yorkshire by signing up to our newsletter here or straight to your mobile via WhatsApp by clicking here.
