New towns development – ‘the “art of delivery” is for all parties to trust and be satisfied that the risk and return is appropriate’

In July 2024, the newly elected Labour government announced plans to revive the concept of new towns as part of its pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes over five years. Alongside wider planning reforms, the policy aims to take a more active role in land assembly, infrastructure co-ordination and long-term spatial planning.

Central to the announcement was the introduction of a New Towns Code, setting clear expectations for developers, including a target of 40% affordable housing, strong design standards and an infrastructure-first approach.

While the ambition is clear, many of the delivery details remain uncertain. The path to delivery, particularly at the scale of 10,000 homes, is not without challenge.

Drawing from our experience supporting strategic sites like Worcestershire Parkway (10,000 homes) and St Cuthberts Garden Village (10,000 homes), we see several key areas that will require attention. To begin with, land assembly remains a major hurdle; multiple ownerships can delay progress significantly without clear delivery mechanisms or, where necessary, the use of compulsory purchase powers. It is important that you secure the ‘buy-in’ from all the key landowners at an early stage. Landowners need to be incentivised to release land, but the narrative needs to be tightly controlled about the cost of upfront infrastructure. There needs to be an understanding from landowners and site promoters that to achieve the delivery of homes requires the critical infrastructure to be delivered also. Public sector promoters should not continue to pump funds into technical studies, adding value to the land, without these co-operation and partnership structures in place.

Second, infrastructure funding is a critical issue. Upfront delivery of transport, utilities, schools and healthcare facilities is essential, yet costly. At Worcestershire Parkway, for example, early-stage infrastructure alone required over £130 million public intervention to be delivered. This presents a significant cashflow challenge to overcome. This is best achieved by all parties working in an open and transparent manner to agree values, costs, land values and returns. Where parties are motivated to make ‘windfall’ land values or profits, this will quickly unravel at the due-diligence stage of any public funding. The ‘art of the deal’ is for all parties to trust and be satisfied that the risk and return is appropriate.

Besides that, viability must be carefully managed. Achieving ambitious affordable housing targets while also funding major infrastructure is complex and requires a flexible approach to land values, developer profit margins and access to public funding. It is inevitable that the values and costs will change over time. Infrastructure costs particularly need to be carefully scrutinised in terms of whether the particular infrastructure is high or low priority; the triggers and timing for such infrastructure; and the fees, risks and contingency sums are appropriate and monitored over time as design develops. Accordingly, governance and coordination are vital. Delivery at this scale demands effective collaboration between councils, government agencies and developers, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

Our work on large-scale sites, such as Worcestershire Parkway and St Cuthberts, has given us a clear understanding of what it takes to bring forward strategic development in practice. Through close collaboration with local authorities, Homes England and other partners, we have helped align planning policy, funding and delivery across complex projects.

These experiences highlight the importance of clear delivery strategies, realistic viability modelling, phased infrastructure planning and transparent land and cost equalisation. Securing early funding, managing land interests and maintaining momentum over time all require careful co-ordination.

Now is the time to reflect on lessons from recent strategic sites. Turning ambition into delivery will depend not just on high-level policy, but on the frameworks and relationships that underpin long-term, sustainable growth.