On March 26th 2026, the Government announced the locations of seven proposed New Towns, to provide thousands of new ‘homes’ where they are needed and ‘to kickstart the housebuilding push’.
Tempsford, Bedfordshire
Up to 40,000 homes will be built around a new East West Rail station, linking residents to Cambridge, Oxford, London and Milton Keynes.
Leeds South Bank, West Yorkshire
Up to 20,000 homes are to be built to capitalise on the city’s ‘economic momentum’ and the £2.1 billion local transport investment by the government.
Manchester Victoria North, Greater Manchester
At least 15,000 homes are to be built to regenerate the heart of Greater Manchester, with a new Metrolink stop connecting residents to jobs across the city.
Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc, South Gloucestershire
Up to 40,000 homes are to be sited at the heart of a world-class research and advanced engineering economy.
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Itself one of the original new towns, the city will be expanded by around 40,000 homes and the centre reinvigorated with a new local transport system, boosting connectivity in the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.
Thamesmead, Greenwich, London
Up to 15,000 homes will ‘unlock inaccessible riverside land’ in London, enabled by the planned Docklands Light Railway extension
Six other locations were assessed and although they will not be taken forward at this point, they may continue to be developed at a local level, or developed in the future.
Adlington
Heyford Park,
Marlcombe (East Devon),
Plymouth,
South Barking
Wychavon Town —
The Government suggests that Plymouth offers a ‘unique opportunity’ to ‘bolster the UK’s defence and security sector’, offering a ‘bespoke support package to unlock its potential as a centre of excellence in naval technology, and to ensure that lack of good quality homes does not act as a barrier to growth’.
The Government also announced that the Mayoral Combined Authorities in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the East Midlands, Greater Lincolnshire, Hull & East Yorkshire, Tees Valley, West of England and York & North Yorkshire.
It is hoped that this will confirm the Government’s commitment to solve the housing crisis while helping first-time buyers.
The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England has given a cautious thumbs up to the majority of the locations approved, in particular those where sites are brownfield or ‘regeneration-led’, such as Manchester, Leeds, Brabazon, Milton Keynes and Tempsford.
However, the two London sites provoke concern because building will fall on Green Belt land. CPRE has made clear its opposition to this, stating ‘there is sufficient brownfield land in London that should be prioritised for development first’. Moreover, CPRE has expressed its concern that any new building in London ‘must be genuinely affordable’, addressing housing needs in ‘the right way’.
CPRE is also concerned that the six ‘rejected’ sites, which they deem unsuitable, are not safe from development in the future and, indeed, may ‘have been placed in a holding category that could see them brought forward for large-scale housing through other routes — with less scrutiny and fewer guarantees on infrastructure or affordability than a formal new town would require’.
The public consultation on proposed locations and draft planning policy is open until Monday 18 May and the Government states that the final locations will be confirmed later this year after the consultation and Strategic Environmental Assessment, together with any further required environmental assessment.
The CPRE undertakes to engage with this consultation to try to ensure that the New Towns are truly well-planned, sustainable, with ‘nature-rich, thriving communities with high connectivity and clean energy homes that people can afford’: ‘new towns done well’.
Information has been taken from the Government’s press release (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/seven-new-towns-proposed-to-kickstart-housebuilding-push) and the website of the Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England.