Two weeks ago, in anticipation of the imminent publication of the
New Towns Taskforce's report, the Built Environment Committee
released the initial findings of its own inquiry into the
Government's new towns programme. The Committee's report – New
Towns: Laying the Foundations – is due to be published in
mid-October. However, hours before this report went to press, the
Government published the Taskforce report and its response.
The Committee is impressed by the thoroughness and depth of the
Taskforce's report, and pleased to see how closely much of it
matches the Committee's own conclusions and recommendations.
Given the very evident enthusiasm of the new Secretary of State
for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Committee is
hopeful that there will be real progress with the new towns
programme during this parliament.
However, this optimism is tempered by a degree of caution:
without the commitment to significant additional central
government funding, the programme will struggle to deliver any
viable new towns or expanded settlements. Furthermore, the
Government's response makes it clear that it still has much work
to do in terms of establishing its roadmap for the programme. The
Committee hopes that the Strategic Environmental Assessment of
the potential locations is a genuine first step towards getting
spades in the ground.
, Chair of the House of
Lords Built Environment Committee, said:
“I am very pleased to see how carefully and deeply the Taskforce
has fulfilled its remit to produce a detailed and rigorous
report. I am even more pleased to see how closely the Taskforce
recommendations echo those of the Built Environment Committee. In
particular, the alignment between the Committee and the Task
Force on issues such as community involvement, stewardship, and
the opportunity to test new ways of funding infrastructure shows
that the Government should be bold in taking forward thinking on
these issues.
"The Secretary of State has committed to “build, baby, build!”.
My challenge to him is to follow through on this promise and do
so to the highest standards. The country urgently needs a
visionary housebuilding programme that captures the public's
imagination and delivers the ambition and quality of the post-war
New Towns Programme. Now is the time to act.”
