Reports

For the first time in 50 years, there is a national commitment to building a new generation of new towns. With the severity of Britain’s housing shortage, this is exciting news. But as history shows us, the location of new towns is critical to them growing into prosperous and liveable communities. Trying to create self-sufficient new towns far from existing successful cities has failed before (see the case of Skelmersdale) and would fail again.

The most important criteria for choosing where to locate new towns is that they should be quickly connected to places where building an additional house unlocks significant surplus value. 

The sites should make use of existing or planned infrastructure. As we know, it is incredibly expensive to build new roads, railways and tram lines in Britain, so any opportunity to build a new town alongside existing infrastructure should be taken. 

The UK has a shortfall of 4.3 million houses compared to other Western European countries. This housing shortage has reduced affordability, growth, and living standards. 

The Government recognises this and has put a 1.5 million target for England, achieved through planning reform and increased public housebuilding, at the centre of its strategy to spur economic growth. Centre for Cities has published three big reports as part of the ‘Restarting housebuilding’ series on how this can be achieved through planning reform, social housing, and new towns.

A shift to flexible zoning, in combination with green belt release around railway stations, would maximise the economic benefits of planning reform to the national economy by solving the housing crisis in and around cities where housing pressures are most severe.  

England’s new homes in recent years have increasingly encouraged car-dependent lifestyles. As the new government embarks on a period of increased housebuilding, it is vital to understand what is going wrong and how to change course in the coming five years. 

The experience of the past 15 years shows us that, without substantial changes, there is a major risk of locking in increased car dependency for decades to come. These changes are vital if the government is to deliver on other priorities, such as bringing the cost of living down to more manageable levels, reducing spatial inequality, and responding adequately to the climate emergency.

In this paper, we construct a Car Dependency Index (CDI). We find that the CDI of new homes has risen steadily. New builds have become more and more car-dependent relative to existing homes. 

We propose a move towards a system where the public sector delivers public benefit via a strong planning system that intervenes early on, creating plans democratically and using holistic evidence and integration of transport, housing and land plans at a regional scale....ensuring any release of green belt or grey belt land within the strategic spatial planning process is conditional on achieving a good minimum standard of sustainable transport in the resulting developments. Current green belt areas have higher car dependency and our analysis suggests that without careful consideration, grey belt developments will be car-dependent unless they deliver a significant improvement in the quality of public transport infrastructure and urban design. 

The latest RTPI report examines where planning applications are moving forward and how approved development locations align with key destinations, aiming to reveal whether the planning system is facilitating housing near essential locations or simply embedding car dependency for another generation.

The findings of the Location of Development research indicate that more needs to be done to ensure that new developments are located in sustainable locations that do not further entrench car dependency, and its associated ailments of social isolation, sedentary lifestyles, and poor air quality.

Since its introduction in 2012, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has maintained key objectives, including:

• Building a strong, competitive economy and supporting rural prosperity,

• Ensuring the vitality of town centres,

• Promoting healthy communities,

• Encouraging sustainable transport,

• And making effective use of land.

Although the Framework has been updated over time, these core goals remain consistent. But are we actually seeing progress toward achieving them?

Our joint research uncovered the fact that, despite the objectives of the NPPF being in place for over a decade, driving remains the most convenient mode of transport in most cases from new development sites, undermining efforts to reduce emissions and shift toward sustainable travel.