Locations for seven new towns have been revealed by Labour as part of Sir Keir Starmer‘s vow to build 1.5million new homes by the next election.
Between 15,000 and 40,000 homes will be built in each location it was being dubbed by the government as the most ambitious housebuilding project in half a century.
‘Elizabethtown’, in honour of the late Queen, and ‘Attleetown’, after post-war Prime Minister Clement Attlee are among the new developments.
The sites range from south Gloucestershire in the west, to Thamesmead and Enfield in London, and Manchester and Leeds in the north.
One of the seven new towns is set to be named after Athelstan, the first King of England, while others will be inspired by suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, as well as Jamaican-British nurse Mary Seacole.
Each neighbourhood will feature high streets, green spaces, schools, access to healthcare and public transport links, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
The seven new locations were narrowed down from 12 initially proposed by a Government taskforce.
Those that did not make the cut were deemed suitable for development but not as fully formed new towns.
Each location will consist of 40 per cent ‘affordable’ housing, of which at least half will be designated for social rent.
Artist impressions for the proposals show what is being planned for each location.
VICTORIA NORTH
The £4billion regeneration project in Greater Manchester proposes the building of 15,000 homes over the next two decades.
They will be spread across seven new and existing neighbourhoods, each ‘with their own individual character’, on a 390-acre plot of land between Victoria station and Queen’s Park in Collyhurst.
The blueprints and construction are being jointly funded by Manchester City Council, and Hong Kong investment firm Far East Consortium.
Some 1,000 houses have already been granted planning permission and developers predict the site will provide homes for more than 40,000 people.
The masterplan says the ‘regeneration [is] built around families, communities and nature’
Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: ‘Greater Manchester is ready to deliver a decade of good growth, giving people quality jobs and truly affordable homes, and Victoria North is a crucial part of that.’
The town will be connected by a new Metrolink stop and will have new schools and healthcare facilities.
Cllr Bev Craig OBE, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: ‘Victoria North is well positioned to benefit from the Government’s New Town status and their continued backing – being named as one of the initial seven programmes of regeneration to be taken forward – will provide the investment at scale that will help realise the next phases of development.
‘Our vision for Victoria North is hugely ambitious – one of the UK’s biggest regeneration programmes that will deliver 15,000 new homes in the coming years, including lots of social rent and genuinely affordable homes, alongside quality green spaces that will also open up and celebrate the River Irk for the first time in decades.
‘This Government has already given a clear vote of confidence in this programme, confirming £60m last week through the Good Growth fund that will see a new tram stop in Collyhurst – a landmark investment in this neighbourhood that will help unlock transformational regeneration in this community in the coming years.
‘We stand ready to continue working closely with Government to completely reshape the Victorian North area – a new town within our city. And another example of the faith that this Government has in Manchester to deliver ambitious regeneration and drive sustainable economic growth.’
Some 1,000 houses have already been granted planning permission and developers predict the site will provide homes for more than 40,000 people
The £4billion regeneration project in Greater Manchester proposes the building of 15,000 homes over the next two decades
BRABAZON
Brabazon New Town, in South Gloucestershire, is anticipated to be completed by autumn 2026 and is part of the West Innovation Arc (WIA) developments.
The new destination is being built on the former Filton Airfield, in north Bristol, by YTL, who is handling the construction.
Planning permission has been granted for 6,500 homes so far, and the number could reach up to 25,000 in the future.
Student accommodation for 2,000 individuals is also planned, according to YTL.
The project is set to create 30,000 new jobs in the area and boost the local economy by £5billion.
Meanwhile, more than £100million is being invested to help local infrastructure which includes a new railway station and a bus service.
Additional cycle paths and walking routes are also set to be added.
As for education, there will be three new schools as well as ‘community facilities to support lifelong learning,’ according to YTL.
The mega town will also boast a live entertainment facility which is big enough to see 20,000 people.
It will include an impressive aerospace-themed digital entertainment hub, as well as exhibition areas and conferencing space.
Plans include a 15-acre Brabazon Park and lake, which will be the largest in the South West for around 50 years, and a community hub inside a Grade II-listed hangar.
Brabazon New Town, in South Gloucestershire, is anticipated to be completed by autumn 2026 and is part of the West Innovation Arc (WIA) developments
The new destination is being built on the former Filton Airfield, in north Bristol
The project is set to create 30,000 new jobs in the area and boost the local economy by £5billion
THAMESMEAD
Thamesmead, near the Thames, in Greenwich, is earmarked for 15,000 homes over the next 30 years.
The riverside site spans across 247 acres on the southern bank of the river and is the same size as central London.
Developers say it ‘represents the most significant development opportunity in the area’.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already given her backing for the Docklands Light Railway to be extended to the area.
‘It will introduce a new vision for waterfront living that is inclusive, connected, and vibrant,’ the project’s website reads.
‘Surrounded by extensive green spaces and a rich natural environment, the masterplan is expected to feature a dynamic mix of retail, commercial, and leisure destinations alongside a substantial number of new homes across all tenures.’
Councillor Anthony Okereke, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said following the government’s announcement: ‘We know how much potential there is waiting to be unlocked in Thamesmead, and we’re thrilled the government also recognised as a New Town delivering up to 15,000 new homes and 6000 jobs.’
The riverside site spans across 247 acres on the southern bank of the river and is the same size as central London
Developers say Thamesmead ‘represents the most significant development opportunity in the area’
Thamesmead, near the Thames, in Greenwich, is earmarked for 15,000 homes over the next 30 years
CREWS HILL AND CHASE PARK
The 21,000 homes development, in Enfield, will include GP surgeries, schools, and leisure facilities.
Enfield Council leader Ergin Erbil said last November the project would include 6,000 council homes and they would primarily be ‘family-sized affordable homes’.
He told the BBC: ‘We will have lots of nice public parks, lots of nice public amenities, local shops, so it’s not just going to be homes, it’s going to be a brand new town.’
The council has called it ‘a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to change lives and help families grow and thrive in Enfield’.
A new public parkland, rewilding of 2,471 acres of farmland to create wetlands, new ponds and walking routes also form part of the plans.
However, the local Tory opposition has vowed to pull the plug on the development if it wins May’s local election.
Tory leader Alessandro Georgiou told the Enfield Dispatch this week: ‘Enfield Council, Sadiq Khan and the government have conspired to destroy Crews Hill, Vicarage Farm and the Green Belt.
‘As Enfield Conservatives we will take our fight to the ballot box and, if we win on 7th May, we will save these sites from the clutches of the Labour Party.’
The 21,000 homes development, in Enfield, will include GP surgeries, schools, and leisure facilities
Enfield Council leader Ergin Erbil said last November the project would include 6,000 council homes and they would primarily be ‘family-sized affordable homes’
The council has called it ‘a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to change lives and help families grow and thrive in Enfield’
The local Tory opposition has vowed to pull the plug on the development if it wins May’s local election
LEEDS SOUTH BANK
The project will double the size of Leeds’s city centre with the development of up to 20,000 new homes.
Three million sq ft of commercial space are included in the blueprints, with the development spanning across the equivalent of 350 football pitches.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is MP for Leeds west, said the announcement marked ‘a significant moment for the city’.
She told the Yorkshire Post: ‘Leeds is already one of England’s great economic success stories. But too many people who work here, or who want to work here, simply cannot afford to live here. That is holding the city back — and it is holding the country back too.’
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: ‘The Leeds South Bank New Town is a once in a generation opportunity to deliver new homes in one of the UK’s fastest growing cities.’
The Aire Park regeneration in the area, which is already under construction, is separate to the South Bank proposals.
Three million sq ft of commercial space are included in the blueprints, with the development spanning across the equivalent of 350 football pitches
The project will double the size of Leeds’s city centre with the development of up to 20,000 new homes
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is MP for Leeds west, said the announcement marked ‘a significant moment for the city’
MILTON KEYNES
One of the largest of Labour’s ‘new towns’, the city would see up to 40,000 homes being built as part of an expansion of Milton Keynes.
The government said it would ‘reinvigorate the centre with a new local transport system, boosting connectivity in the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor’.
The council said the area would also provide jobs, schools, surgeries, community facilities, open space and ‘the other infrastructure and facilities needed to make people-friendly and healthy places’.
It said three areas are being considered for expansion: a new urban neighbourhood in central Milton Keynes; to the east of the M1; and to the north which would be led by a developer.
A government report by the New Towns taskforce said a new bridge would ‘bind the northern development to the city centre’.
A electric-powered tram-like Mass Rapid Transport system would be built, which the local MP last year said would ‘correct’ a ‘historic mistake’ of putting ‘too much reliance on the car’.
Labour’s Chris Curtis said: ‘Lots of people in the city aren’t able to drive, lots of people might want to take alternative forms of transport – it’s a way of getting congestion off our roads.’
The council said three areas are being considered for expansion: a new urban neighbourhood in central Milton Keynes; to the east of the M1; and to the north which would be led by a developer
TEMPSFORD
Up to 40,000 homes would be be built around a new East West Rail station in Bedfordshire, linking residents to Cambridge, Oxford, London and Milton Keynes.
The new town of around 317,000 residents could be ready by 2040.
But the proposals have already sparked the ire of the 600 locals currently living there that would see their idyllic rural hamlet turned into a metropolis.
A study in 2024 by think tank UKDayOne suggested the village could become a new city with a population of 350,000 people, larger than Nottingham, Newcastle or Plymouth.
Up to 40,000 homes would be be built around a new East West Rail station in Bedfordshire, linking residents to Cambridge, Oxford, London and Milton Keynes
Tempsford Parish Council chairman David Smith, 50, claimed last year the new properties would ‘decimate’ the village.
He said: ‘We understand that Cambridge and Oxford need new homes but we’re too small a village to say no to anything. We’ve got no voice, no power and those in charge don’t care.
‘This will decimate everything by making Tempsford as big as Milton Keynes and Cambridge together.
‘You shouldn’t be able to take all of this away without consequences. We don’t want to be the next Milton Keynes.’
A government report said ‘the potential scale of development provides the opportunity for Tempsford to not only contribute to the economic growth of nearby centres but also act as an economic hub in its own right, particularly through the provision of lab space for life sciences and other employment opportunities’.
