NEW TOWNS: A CHANCE TO STEWARD GOOD LIVES, NOT JUST HOUSING TARGETS

By Lucy Webb and Roland Karthaus

The government’s plan to build new towns has largely been framed as a way to build thousands of new homes. But this agenda is a chance to do far more: to create new economic, social and cultural infrastructure that can drive prosperity and good lives for all as well as stimulate the regeneration of existing towns and neighbourhoods.

Stewardship is key to the success of any new town ambitions. By this we mean specifically local stewardship, whereby the design, planning and management of these new towns are placed in the hands of those committed and invested in driving the best outcomes for the local area. Homes must be an outcome of the New Towns movement, but they should not be the starting point.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves asserted that new towns would “kick start economic growth and give businesses the confidence to invest” as well as “creating good jobs and delivering the transport links, access to public services like GP surgeries and schools, and high quality green spaces that communities need.” This is music to the ears of many of us who have battled the housing crisis for years now and welcome the opportunity to look at this problem differently, as well as a way to help support the prosperity of existing communities.

At ICC we think the new towns agenda is an opportunity to bring together the best of all we have learned over decades into creating high quality, sustainable neighbourhoods that are shaped by and involve residents who already live in, or close to, the area. Done well, new towns can help drive regeneration of existing towns by creating improved connectivity, education and employment opportunities and driving more footfall to retail and cultural destinations.

The government has floated the idea of mayoral development corporations to make sure these new towns come forward at the scale and pace intended, as also mooted in post-war planning. But local councils must not be bypassed – and they must be ready in turnn to ask clearly for what they want and need it to deliver for their residents and their borough’s prosperity, in co-operation and co-ordination with local people.

“It’s no use jibbing, it’s going to be done”

Since the New Towns Act of 1946 there have been many chances to learn how to do this. The original vision was based on Ebenezer Howard’s garden cities movement, with its principles of strong community engagement, community ownership of land, mixed-tenure, affordable, well-designed homes; a wide range of local jobs; strong cultural, recreational and shopping facilities and integrated and accessible transport.

What actually occurred however looked very different: a mash-up of different approaches from town expansions (rather than new towns) and new towns that were created without local ownership over the changes happening, fuelling opposition and lending the overall project an often negative reputation. In Stevenage, the first new town created under the Act of Parliament, Labour MP Lewis Silkin’s words to protestors in 1950 – “it’s no use jibbing, it’s going to be done” - drove even more opposition.

While current day politicians might have better understanding of public relations, their words must be met by concrete actions that support a model of local stewardship if this Labour government’s new towns are to be more successful. This means recognising local councils as the lead convenors and curators of place-based partnerships to bring the expertise, investment and creativity required to combine the social, economic, cultural, educational, and environmental qualities we should all expect of our neighbourhoods. Plans must draw on the expertise and experience of anchor institutions, local businesses, elected representatives, key community leaders and representatives and developers and investors.

At ICC we’ve been supporting clients across the country to take the lead in these place-based approaches to growth and development, helping councils to:

· convene communities and partners to develop diverse and ambitious visions for their places;

· steward the process from the outset in a way that holds this vision for the long term through inevitable shifts in policy and funding; and

· establish locally-constituted stewardship of the places themselves through innovative land and asset models with communities at their heart.

If the conferences we have been to lately are anything to go by, the development industry is really excited about the new towns agenda. Developers, investors and consultants have packed into rooms where panels offer ways to predict where and when these new towns will be. But as we’ve pointed out here, a new town is about far more than a geographical target.

So far our twenty-first century new towns have struggled to win the same kind of vision, ambition and commitment as that which framed last century’s project. At ICC we’ve set the bar high for what new towns can and should achieve. We’re excited about this opportunity and we’re ready and willing to help make it happen with you.