Work on a host of new towns will begin across the country before the next election – with British workers leading construction, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
More than 100 potential locations have been suggested for new towns in England, the Prime Minister revealed as he promised “the largest housebuilding programme since the post-war era”.
Each new town will have the potential for 10,000 or more homes, contributing towards the 1.5 million which the Government has pledged to build.
The Prime Minister’s push for new towns comes after he and his deputy Angela Rayner joined the King for a tour of the Nansledan development in Cornwall, inspired by Charles’ views on architecture and planning on Monday.
The move raised concerns about dragging the King into politics, coming just days before Thursday’s announcement about plans to create “beautiful communities” with affordable homes, much-needed infrastructure, GP surgeries and schools.
“I wanted to see it for myself but I don’t want to draw the King into it,” Sir Keir told reporters when asked about the concerns.
Georgian townhouses and Edwardian mansion blocks are among the inspirations for the kinds of homes Labour would like to build, though the Government has dropped a Tory requirement to build “beautiful” homes from planning guidelines.
Sir Keir cited variation in buildings and “roads that aren’t all straight” among elements he would like to see in the proposed new towns, and said while it was difficult to define beauty, homes that were “well-designed” were a priority for him.
The Prime Minister also suggested he was struck that social housing and market rate homes were indistinguishable at Nansledan.
While Sir Keir acknowledged it would “take time” to build all of the new towns, he added: “I want to make sure that these construction sites have started and are up and running and we are building them by the time of the next election.”
The Government will work to “train up” the workforce required for the building programme, he added.
Sir Keir said home ownership remained a “distant dream” for many, resulting in a “disconnect between working hard and getting on”.
“This is about more than just bricks and mortar. It’s about the security and stability that owning your own home bring,” he said.
“I know what this means for working people – the roof above our head was everything for our family growing up.”
The Government has pledged to deliver 1.5 million new homes by the time of the next general election.
Highlighting the Government’s “new homes accelerator” project, which aims to overcome problems holding up housing projects, Sir Keir said: “We’ve already made progress in just seven months, unblocking 20,000 stuck homes. But there’s more to do.
“We’re urgently using all levers available to build the homes we need so more families can get on the housing ladder.
“We’re sweeping aside the blockers to get houses built, no longer accepting no as the default answer, and paving the way for the next generation of new towns.
“As part of the largest housebuilding programme since the post-war era, our ambitious Plan for Change will transform the lives of working people, once again connecting the basic principle that if you work hard, you should get on.”
A further three sites – Frome Gateway in Bristol, south of Cayton in North Yorkshire and Beam Park in Dagenham, east London – will receive support from the new homes accelerator scheme.
As part of efforts to regenerate areas and use brownfield land, £30 million will go to Bradford, £1.5 million to a scheme at Manchester Victoria North and £20 million will help transform small-scale council-owned sites around the country.
A new plan to broker disagreements between developers and government agencies which need to be consulted during the planning process has also been set out.
Quangos including National Highways, Natural England and the Environment Agency will need to bring planners and housebuilders to the table to iron out concerns, with £1 million of funding to speed up the planning approval process.
A £2 million package will support the Building Safety Regulator to speed up the process of signing off new high-rise housing blocks.
Councils will share £3 million of grants to boost planning capacity.
Housing Secretary Ms Rayner said: “While our vision for the next generation of new towns is setting the stage for a housebuilding revolution in the years to come, urgent action is needed now to build the homes and infrastructure that our local communities are crying out for.
“That’s why our new homes accelerator is working at pace to find solutions and remove blockages in the system, executing long-lasting solutions to get spades in the ground.”
