Sun, 28 Sep 2025

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 Building of three new towns will start before election, Labour pledges

The housing secretary is expected to announce the plans on the first day of Labour's party conference.

* Labour has pledged to begin construction on three new towns before the next general election
* The locations chosen for development are Tempsford in Bedfordshire, Leeds South Bank, and Crews Hill in north London
* Each new town will have at least 10,000 homes and could collectively result in 300,000 homes being built across England over the coming decades
* At least 40% of these new homes should be classed as affordable housing, according to a recommendation from the New Towns Taskforce
* A New Towns Unit will be tasked with bringing in funding for public and private sector investment in GP surgeries, schools, green spaces, libraries, and transport for the new developments
* The taskforce has recommended that new towns are delivered by development corporations with special planning powers to compulsory purchase land and invest in local services
* Labour aims to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029 and has identified 12 locations across England for development
  >>