Our reaction to the government's plan for the next generation of new towns

Today we've shared our reactions to the government's plan for the next generation of new towns.  Here are comments from our Chief Investment Officer, Amanda Williams in response to the announcement:

“Building 1.5m homes requires innovation, forward-thinking and bold ideas. The new towns plan is a step in that direction and should be welcomed, especially aims for at least 40% of these homes to be affordable. We now need to get specific about how to balance the ambition to build new communities with the need to regenerate existing ones.

 “We know that people want to have more say in the housing that is built for them – our research shows that two-thirds* of people believe local communities should have a greater say over the housing that is built in their area. We’ve also seen how powerful community-led development can be through our work with community land trusts (CLTs), unlocking smaller pockets of land and ensuring the right types of homes are built for the people that will live in them.

 “The new towns plan is an opportunity to turbocharge community development. Mandating that a percentage of housing in any new town plan must be owned by a CLT, alongside ringfencing social housing development, would be a gamechanger and put communities right at heart of the national housing strategy.”

* https://www.aster.co.uk/corporate/about-us/new-community