Construction of 14 new garden villages and towns announced

The first ever garden villages, which have the potential to deliver more than 48,000 homes across England, have been given government backing. Three new garden towns have also been given the go ahead.

This follows a request for expressions of interest from local areas with ambitious and innovative proposals to deliver 1,500 homes and above.

Expressions of interest needed to demonstrate a strong local commitment to delivery and needed the backing of the local authorities in which they were situated. They also had to set out how the local community was being or will be, engaged at an early stage, and strategies for community involvement to help ensure local support.  

Around £6 million will go towards the village scheme, which could generate 48,000 new homes nationally, and £1.4 million has been earmarked for the towns.

Gavin Barwell, Housing and Planning Minister, announced that “Locally-led garden towns and villages have enormous potential to deliver the homes that communities need. New communities not only deliver homes - they also bring new jobs and facilities and a big boost to local economies. These places combined could provide almost 200,000 homes.”

The difference between a garden town and a garden village?

A garden town is defined as a development of more than 10,000 homes. Garden villages are smaller settlements of between 1,500 and 10,000 homes.

The garden village must be a new discreet settlement and not an extension of an existing town or village. This does not exclude proposals where there are already a few existing homes.

These developments will be distinct new places with their own community facilities, rather than extensions to existing urban areas.

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Locations for the new settlements

The 14 new garden villages will be:

• Long Marston in Stratford-on-Avon
• Oxfordshire Cotswold in West Oxfordshire
• Deenethorpe in East Northants
• Culm in Mid Devon
• Welborne near Fareham in Hampshire
• West Carclaze in Cornwall
• Dunton Hills near Brentwood, Essex
• Spitalgate Heath in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire
• Halsnead in Knowsley, Merseyside
• Longcross in Runnymede and Surrey Heath
• Bailrigg in Lancaster
• Infinity Garden Village in South Derbyshire and Derby City area
• St Cuthberts near Carlisle City, Cumbria
• North Cheshire in Cheshire East

And the three new garden towns:

• Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
• Taunton, Somerset
• Harlow & Gilston, Essex and Hertfordshire

In addition to funding, the government will provide support in terms of expertise, brokerage and will offer new planning freedoms.

By 2020, more than 25,000 housing starts are expected in garden villages, towns, and cities supported by the government. Homes are already being built in several locations, including Bicester, Basingstoke, Didcot, Otterpool Park in Kent, Ebbsfleet, Aylesbury, Taunton, and North Northants.

Further information

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-ever-garden-villages-named-with-government-support