CIH response to the New Towns Draft Programme consultation

Yes. See further details below in response to Question 15.

Yes.

CIH is broadly supportive of the government’s new towns offer, which has the potential to play an important role in delivering new social and affordable homes in strategic locations where housing needs are significant. We desperately need new homes, with 1.34 million households on social housing waiting lists and high numbers of people experiencing homelessness. Now, more than ever, we need to boost the delivery of good quality, social homes to meet local needs. New towns provide an opportunity for this on a large-scale. In the post-war periods, the 32 new towns created homes for 2.8 million people, as outlined in the chapter on new towns in the UK Housing Review 2026. It is vital that we take advantage of a similar opportunity to significantly increase the development of truly affordable homes with a new generation of new towns, with this response outlining key recommendations to achieve this.

Delivery vehicles

As the New Towns Taskforce report of September 2025 acknowledges, the new towns programme will need to run for at least 20 years to successfully deliver the proposed new towns at the scale required. It is therefore crucial that the delivery vehicles established to plan for and lead the development of new towns are resilient, sustainably funded and able to withstand changes in economic and political circumstances over this period.

There is precedent for this. Development of the new towns created in the 30 years following the end of the Second World War were led by development corporations equipped with extensive powers over land acquisition, disposal and provision of infrastructure. Crucially, they were also able to secure long term public loans secured against future rental, sales and lease income. To ensure design and placemaking coherence over a 20 to 30-year period, it is important that any development corporations established to lead this generation of new towns are locally led, understand local priorities and needs, and work with local authorities and/or strategic authorities. Strategic and integrated planning is essential to ensure new towns meet local housing needs. It is crucial that development of new towns is coordinated within the framework of local plans and emerging Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs), as well as other relevant strategies on homelessness and supported housing (see further our response to Question 16).

Healthy homes and sustainable communities

CIH has consistently supported the need to build healthy homes and sustainable communities, in line with the TCPA’s Healthy Homes Principles. It is vital that we are developing long-term, intentional, well-designed homes that are fit for the future, to ensure the success of the new towns programme. This includes access to green and blue spaces, integrated transport and social infrastructure, and mixed communities, including a significant proportion of social and affordable homes (see our response to Question 17). Health must be considered throughout the development of new towns, as substantial evidence demonstrates the link between good quality homes and health outcomes. This is clearly outlined in the work of the APPG for Healthy Homes and Buildings, as well as best practice shared by CIH.

Accessible and adaptable homes

CIH has also advocated for government to implement the previous commitment to developing new homes to the higher accessible and adaptable standard (Building Regulations Part M 4 (2)) as the default, in order to ensure that homes are suitable through the lifecycle with an ageing population and more people living longer with life limiting conditions. Providing accessible homes and neighbourhoods will ensure that everyone can fully participate in employment and meaningful activity within these new communities.

The New Towns Taskforce report emphasised the need for key placemaking principles, and we believe it is essential that they are used in the planning and development of each new town and development going forwards.

Somewhat unclear. See below for further clarifications required.

Contribution of new towns to meeting housing need

The consultation document states that “the government considers that the delivery of housing in new town proposals should contribute towards meeting the identified housing need of relevant strategic and LPAs in all instances.” It is likely that new towns will take at least 15 to 20 years to deliver in full – longer than the timeframes of local plans. This means further clarity about the alignment with local plans and the delivery of new towns is required.

There is currently insufficient clarity regarding the role of new towns in meeting local housing targets set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in 2024. Local plans have been revised to meet new housing targets, but CIH members and sector partners have expressed uncertainty about whether new towns count towards these targets. This is particularly unclear when a new town will be located in an area covered by more than one local authority and/or spatial development strategy area. CIH supports the inclusion of new towns within local housing targets, or the recalculation of a local area’s target with the standard method if it is allocated a new town but stresses the need for urgent clarification on this point for those in the process of developing both new town proposals and local plans.

There are concerns that the skills and labour shortages in construction trades may otherwise cause conflicting priorities between new towns and other developments if they do not count towards housing targets. There are also challenges related to capacity in local authority planning departments (see more below). Further detail and guidance are therefore required on the relationship between local plans and housing need in locations where new towns are proposed.

It is also imperative that new towns are built to meet the needs of our diverse society, and so housing for those with additional requirements must be included in plans. We recommend that any new town plans must refer to the Supported Housing Strategy of each relevant local authority, in order to consistently meet local needs. These strategies require setting out current existing supported housing provision in an area, as well as the future projections of need. This could be achieved by calculating an average from the strategies of local authorities where new towns are located, and those nearby. This would serve as a sensible indicator of the proportion and type of supported homes that should be included in the delivery of each new town.  

Several other elements of the proposed planning policy require further clarification:

• Relationship with Spatial Development Strategies. The government has set out plans for the establishment of Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs) across England to provide a formal mechanism for cross-boundary planning. However, these are not referenced in the consultation. Clarification is required on how SDSs should plan for delivery of new towns in areas where they are proposed.
• Local authority capacity. As the RTPI has reported, and as CIH has consistently outlined, local planning authorities in England are currently experiencing significant capacity challenges. The new towns programme rightly sets out an objective for LPAs to engage in comprehensive master planning for new towns. To achieve this, further clarification is required on the resources that will be available to LPAs and other public bodies such as strategic authorities to support this work.
• Housing and infrastructure, and community engagement. We are encouraged by the clear emphasis in the consultation document and the recent consultation on revisions to the NPPF on improving integration of housing and infrastructure. It is vital that housing is built with access to transport, healthcare, schools and other necessary services, to create thriving communities. This is also needed for existing local communities, to prevent further strains on services, and to encourage support for new developments. Community engagement is essential to gain support for the proposed new towns, and we encourage development of clear roadmaps for the coordinated sequencing of development of both infrastructure and housing. We recommend exploring lessons learned from previous new towns and garden cities, to promote the benefits of new towns to local communities and meaningfully respond to any concerns raised. Many of these lessons are explored in the UK Housing Review 2026 chapter on new towns.
• Clear, long-term governance and delivery structures. It is crucial that accountable and transparent governance structures are established to support development of new towns. Completion of the new towns is likely to take upwards of 10 years and potentially up to 30 years. The institutions set up to deliver them must therefore be resilient, self-sufficient and able to withstand political and economic changes during these periods. The New Towns Taskforce report made clear its preference for the establishment of development corporations to deliver new towns, reflecting the success of this model in delivering previous generations of new towns. It is important that clear objectives are established for each new town development corporation. It is also essential that there is a clear understanding of how each development corporation’s activities interact with the planning powers held by local authorities, strategic authorities and strategic planning boards. Providing this clarity will help to ensure institutional stability in the planning phase of new towns and ensure place stewardship arrangements are established to ensure long-term maintenance and upkeep of communal assets. 

Yes.

CIH particularly supports the minimum target – set out in the consultation document - of 40 per cent affordable housing, of which at least half should be social rent (see more in our response to Question 19). Affordable and balanced communities are an essential part of the placemaking principles in the New Towns Taskforce’s report. This principle must be embedded into the planning policy of all new towns, to achieve the placemaking ambition of the programme and build homes that genuinely meet local needs.

As set out in our response to Question 15, the new towns programme must also commit to delivering healthy homes and sustainable communities. Consideration should be given in all new town masterplans to the integration of and access to green and blue spaces, as well as provision of adequate social infrastructure alongside new homes, as set out in the placemaking principles. 

Yes.

We strongly agree with the establishment of a 40 per cent target for affordable housing, of which at least half should be for social rent, in line with revisions to the NPPF set out in the recent consultation. As stated in the New Town Taskforce report, affordable homes and balanced communities are crucial to their success, and we believe it is essential to plan for these from the outset.

CIH has long advocated to increase the supply of homes for social rent, which remains the only genuinely affordable tenure for many households in the greatest housing need. Ensuring that new developments deliver homes that people on lower incomes can realistically afford to live in is essential if housing policy is to respond effectively to rising housing need. We therefore support the introduction of a minimum proportion of homes for social rent within all new developments, including within new towns. Establishing a clear baseline expectation would help ensure that housing delivery reflects identified local need, rather than focusing solely on overall housing numbers. This would complement the government’s ambition to increase social rent provision through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, which includes a commitment to deliver a significant proportion of homes for social rent.

Evidence suggests that a minimum requirement of around 20 per cent social rent on medium and large sites could deliver a substantial number of additional social homes while maintaining viability in most circumstances. CIH would therefore support 20 per cent as a national minimum expectation, with local planning authorities able to set higher proportions where this is justified by local housing need and viability evidence. 

No.

CIH supports the ambition of the new towns programme to deliver social and affordable homes at scale, including the proposal for a minimum 40 per cent affordable housing target of which at least half should be available for social rent. However, to support this vision, the policy on social and economic benefits should be clearer.

As currently drafted, a definition of social and economic benefits is not included in the proposed planning policy. It is particularly important that the social and economic benefits measure does not contradict with the affordable homes target. The policy should set a series of clear metrics for social and economic benefits derived from new towns, incorporating key measures of impact on employment; productivity; health outcomes; educational achievement; and the environment. 

Yes.

Viability

The erosion of affordable housing requirements through viability assessments represents a risk to ensuring the placemaking principles set out through the consultation document are adhered to. It is important that the new towns policy is robust in ensuring delivery of the 40 per cent affordable housing target and that viability assessments are based on land value estimates consistent with new town status, rather than based on standard market approaches. 

Protection of social rent target

The 40 per cent affordable housing target is a welcome commitment. However additional clarification is required to ensure at least half of these homes are allocated for social rent. Additional policy should make explicit that proposals which deliver the 40 per cent target but fall short on social rent are not compliant with the placemaking principles. 

Social infrastructure

Policy should make clear that delivery of social infrastructure alongside new homes is crucial to the success of the new towns programme. Policy should set a clear expectation that planning permission for residential phases of any new town development is conditional on progress made delivering social infrastructure, to ensure alignment between housing, health and education outcomes for residents. 

Relationship between Spatial Development Strategies and new towns

In areas where new towns are proposed, clarification is required on how these should be incorporated into the emerging spatial development strategies (see our response to Question 16). 

For more information, please contact Tom Arnold, policy manager at CIH, on tom.arnold@cih.org or Megan Hinch, policy manager at CIH, on megan.hinch@cih.org