More than 100 new towns being considered by ministers

The Labour government has made housebuilding one of its primary goals. Sir Keir
Starmer has also doubled down on his war on NIMBYs.

Political reporter

Thursday 13 February 2025 00:34, UK

More than 100 new towns could be built under the government’s plans for the
“largest housebuilding programme since the post-war era”.

“Sir Keir Starmer [https://news.sky.com/topic/keir-starmer-6820] will visit a
development in Buckinghamshire today as he unveils the latest step in his plans
to build 1.5 million homes.

The prime minister has once again attacked NIMBYs (“Not in my backyard” –
opponents to building in their area), and backed “working people” who can’t
afford homes.

Politics latest: Follow the latest update
[https://news.sky.com/story/politics-latest-immigration-labour-starmer-badenoch-farage-live-news-12593360]

As part of today’s announcement, a first draft of the blueprint for the 100 new
towns will be published.

This will include suggestions on the amount of green spaces, number of GP
surgeries, schools, public transport and affordable housing
[https://news.sky.com/topic/housing-6069] in these new towns.

A final framework will be published in the summer.

Read more:
Government eyes digitising housebuilding
[https://news.sky.com/story/digitising-house-buying-process-considered-as-a-way-to-speed-up-transactions-13306006]
Rayner insists 1.5m target can be met
[https://news.sky.com/story/angela-rayner-insists-15m-housing-target-can-be-met-as-extra-163350m-pledged-for-affordable-homes-13307405]

Writing in The Metro, Sir Keir said he knew there would be “huge opposition” to
his latest plans, but that “for too long the NIMBYs and the naysayers have been
able to clog up our systems so things can’t get built”.

The government says more than 100 sites in England have “come forward” to be
considered to be a new town.

Most of these are in London, the south or the east.

Sir Keir said: “We’re urgently using all levers available to build the homes we
need so more families can get on the housing ladder. We’re sweeping aside the
blockers to get houses built, no longer accepting no as the default answer, and
paving the way for the next generation of new towns.

“As part of the largest housebuilding programme since the post-war era, our
ambitious Plan for Change will transform the lives of working people, once again
connecting the basic principle that if you work hard, you should get on.”

The government claimed it has “unblocked” 20,000 houses since entering
government last July.

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In today’s announcement, the government says it plans to unblock another 700,000
homes across 350 sites.

This will include speeding up the process for building “tall buildings” – those
of 18 metres or more.

It is understood that this reduction in time will not include relaxing safety
regulations, but rather extra resources to make the current steps faster.

Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: “I will not run
away from the tough choices to fix the housing crisis we inherited that has left
thousands of families on housing waiting lists, allowed homelessness to spiral
out of control, and stopped an entire generation from picking up the keys to
their first home.”

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The government also reiterated its plans to overrule local concerns about the
environment – exemplified by the bat tunnel near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire
[https://news.sky.com/story/keir-starmer-has-declared-war-on-100m-hs2-bat-shed-but-has-he-got-a-solution-13306908].

Sir Keir wrote in The Metro: “We’re changing the bonkers system that stops us
building train lines and homes to protect bats and newts.”