Key insights from our tor&conversation with Sir Michael Lyons, Chair of the New Towns Taskforce

Last week, we were delighted to host our latest tor&conversation in Bristol with Sir Michael Lyons, Chair of the New Towns Taskforce. Sir Michael also chairs the English Cities Fund and SQW, drawing on a distinguished public service career including 17 years leading major local authorities and serving as Chief Executive of Birmingham City Council (1994–2001). He was awarded a knighthood in 2001 for services to local government.

Below is a summary of the key insights:

• Strong government commitment
  The government’s detailed response to the Taskforce’s 44 recommendations is still awaited
• Of the 12 potential locations identified for new towns, seven are progressing to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) consultation
• The remaining five locations have not been ruled out, but may be explored through alternative approaches
  

New towns are long-term programmes

• New towns are 30-year development programmes, not short-term solutions
• Successful delivery requires careful planning, sustained infrastructure investment, and strong long-term stewardship arrangements
  

Lessons from previous new towns

• Earlier new towns had notable shortcomings, including:
• Poor location choices
• Car-dependent urban design
• Weak community planning
• Limited long-term stewardship

Despite these shortcomings, the 32 post-war new towns now house around 2.8 million people, representing a major contribution to Britain’s housing supply. Examples include Milton Keynes, now the third-fastest growing city in the UK, with a population of around 300,000, exceeding its original projections.

Housing shortages and economic impact

• The UK’s failure to build enough homes has a significant economic
  and social consequences:
• Businesses struggle to recruit due to housing shortages
  and affordability pressures
• Housing constraints affect educational attainment and
  skills development
• Poor housing availability contributes to worse health outcomes and increased pressure on the NHS
• Delayed household formation is increasingly common

Research cited from Brunel University’s economic audit of the West of England highlights that the region is a potential economic powerhouse but is significantly constrained by housing shortages and inequality in housing access across income groups.

A broader response to the housing crisis

New towns alone cannot solve the housing crisis

“We need the whole orchestra playing if we’re going to solve housing pressures in this country.” – Sir Michael Lyons

• A wider variety of development scales 
• A more diverse development sector
• Expanding rented housing and a wider mix of tenures
• Effective partnerships between local authorities, landowners
  and developers
  

New towns beyond greenfield development

New towns should not be interpreted narrowly as greenfield settlements. Regeneration-led approaches and urban extensions also have a place.

Place-making and long-term stewardship

The Taskforce has developed place-making principles through national consultation, with particular emphasis on long-term stewardship. 

The King’s Cross redevelopment was highlighted as a leading example, where stewardship structures were embedded from the outset to ensure enduring community benefit.

The value of new town designation

• Designation as a new town brings substantial benefits, including:
• Accelerated infrastructure delivery
• Greater cross-government coordination
• Increased investor confidence
• The designation should not be awarded lightly and should require strong commitments from landowners and developers.
  

The role of development corporations

• Act as dedicated delivery vehicles for new towns,
  providing governance, oversight, and expertise to coordinate complex projects
• Enable long-term planning and stewardship, maintaining community vision and standards over decades
• Facilitate risk-sharing between public and private partners, helping unlock challenging sites and support diverse housing delivery
• Provide the scale and authority to implement innovative funding and development approaches, ensuring new towns are delivered efficiently and sustainably
  

Regional perspective: West of England

Our tor&conversation concluded with reflections from John Wilkinson, Director of Place at the West of England Combined Authority, who highlighted major progress across the region:

The West Innovation Arc included among the final seven locations under consideration for new towns

• Appointment of Muse as development partner for the Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration programme
• Planning permission granted for Temple Island, enabling a new community development
• Government allocation of £45 million through the region’s first Brownfield Land Fund
• Inclusion of the region in the Office for Investment’s regional investment framework

The region is preparing a Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) aligned with the long-term nature of new town and major development programmes.

John Wilkinson closed with a reminder of how dramatically conditions can shift: average house prices in Bristol were around £44,000 thirty years ago.