TO BE PUBLISHED December 2025
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Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
This conference will examine progress and next steps for delivering new towns in England.
It will be an opportunity to examine the way forward following Building new towns for the future published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in February 2025 and the Government’s plans for the next generation of new towns, with each expected to deliver at least 10,000 homes. With the New Towns Taskforce’s final report and the Government’s response expected alongside confirmation of the first 12 locations in the autumn ahead of the conference, sessions will assess immediate priorities for programme delivery and early milestones.
The conference will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to consider frameworks for implementation, drawing on findings from the House of Lords Built Environment Committee’s inquiry on new towns, as well as measures in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill introduced in March. Attendees will also look at how revised national planning frameworks and government funding commitments can be aligned with local delivery capacity and long-term stewardship.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- policy: implementation of Building new towns for the future - confirmation of first locations - sequencing of delivery milestones - implications of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill
- governance structures:
- frameworks for delivery - development corporations and local authority-led models - balance between central oversight and local consent - long-term stewardship arrangements
- planning frameworks:
- updated National Planning Policy Framework - mandatory housing targets and compulsory boundary reviews - statutory consultees - new Spatial Development Strategies
- infrastructure delivery:
- funding and sequencing of transport, utilities, health, education and green space - front-loading strategic infrastructure
- aligning grid connections and environmental reporting requirements with programme timetables
- environmental obligations: Environmental Outcome Reports - Nature Restoration Fund - prioritisation of clean-energy infrastructure - balancing consenting speed with sustainability requirements
- financing models:
- land value capture - Affordable Homes Programme - public-private partnerships and risk-sharing mechanisms - structuring long-term funding for social and community infrastructure
- housing mix: affordability and viability at scale - ensuring significant proportions of affordable homes - impact of land and infrastructure costs - investment incentives and support programmes
- workforce capacity: £600m construction skills programme - training for 60,000 workers - readiness to deliver 1.5m homes - meeting building performance and sustainability standards
- strategic choices:
- location and scale of new towns and urban extensions - strategically rational sites identified by Centre for Cities
- alignment with regional growth, devolution deals and industrial strategy aims - proof-of-concept timelines and early delivery
- best practice:
- insights from early infrastructure investment - approaches to unblocking stalled schemes including the New Homes Accelerator
- embedding sustainability and building performance in long-term development
