As ambitious plans for building more homes across the UK continue, eight industry experts have joined the New Towns Taskforce, including those involved in planning, infrastructure delivery, architecture, and urban regeneration.

This task force met in Milton Keynes for the first time in September. Milton Keynes is according to the government a successful post-war town, and meeting there confirmed the responsibilities of each member in laying the groundwork to identify appropriate locations and learning the lessons from previous efforts to build new towns. 

The Taskforce’s mission is already underway, with members leading a series of workstreams, and are to report back to the government within 12 months with a report that includes:  

  • Identifying and reviewing high-potential locations for new towns.
  • Agreeing principles and standards that must be met to provide good quality places.
  • Exploring new ways to attract future funding and investment.
  • Finding practical solutions to remove barriers that will unlock the delivery of new towns.

Chair of the New Towns Taskforce, Sir Michael Lyons said: “We have an important agenda to work through over the next 12 months in ensuring that the next generation of new towns deliver the government’s plans for economic growth and housing ambitions.  

“I look forward to working with our very experienced Taskforce members to provide the Government with robust recommendations within a year.”

What are the government’s current housing plans?

The government is already taking immediate action to ramp up housing supply and boost economic growth by reintroducing mandatory housing targets for councils through an updated National Planning Policy Framework to help deliver 1.5 million homes over the next five years. 

Large housing sites facing blockages in the development system will also be fast-tracked through the New Homes Accelerator programme, which will see planning experts deployed on the ground to support local councils and housebuilders to get Britain building again. 

This is alongside the landmark £150 million partnership recently signed by Homes England to act as a master developer that will unlock largescale brownfield developments across the country, ranging from 1,000 to more than 10,000 homes.

Who comprises the New Towns Taskforce?

  1. Sir Michael Lyons
  • He is the Chair of the New Towns Taskforce.
  • Sir Michael is the non-executive Chairman of the English Cities Fund, a joint venture set up by three partners – including Homes England – which has large scale regeneration developments in London, Liverpool, Plymouth, Salford and Wakefield.
  • He is also the non-executive Chairman of SQW Ltd and has spent 26 years in local government, including 17 years as Chief Executive of three major UK local authorities including Birmingham City Council.
  • He has been a member of the boards of Redrow homes and Sage Housing as well as a strategic adviser on public asset management and regeneration to the commercial real estate and investment firm CBRE. He was also a former Chair of the BBC.
  • He previously chaired the Housing Commission in 2014 established by Ed Miliband, which set out how the UK can boost housing supply. He also led the national ‘Lyons Inquiry into Local Government’ in 2007 about workings and funding of local government which argued for greater devolution and emphasised the local authority’s role in ‘placeshaping’.

 

  1. Dame Kate Barker
  • She is the Deputy Chair of the New Towns Taskforce.
  • Dame Kate chairs the trustee for the Universities Superannuation Scheme, and is also a Church Commissioner for the Church of England. She chairs the Governing Council of the Productivity Institute.
  • She was a former non-executive director at Taylor Wimpey plc, at Man Group plc and at the Yorkshire Building Society. She was an external member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee between 2001 and 2010.
  • During that time, she was commissioned by the government to conduct a major independent policy review of UK Housing Supply in 2004 followed by a review of Land Use Planning in 2006. She has also authored a book titled ‘Housing: where’s the plan’ and was previously a Commissioner for the National Infrastructure Commission.

 

  1. Bill Hughes
  • Bill is Global Head of Real Assets and Co-Head of Private Markets at Legal & General.
  • He plays an active role in the wider infrastructure and housing industry, having been Chair of the Property Industry Alliance since 2016.
  • Bill is also a Global Governing Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and is on the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (NZCBS) Governance Board.
  • Previously, Bill was CEO at RREEF UK and Deputy Managing Director at Schroder Property Investment Management.

 

  1. Dame Diane Coyle
  • She is an economist and Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge.
  • She is also a Director of the Productivity Institute, a Fellow of the Office for National Statistics, and an academic adviser to the CMA.
  • Diane was awarded a DBE for her contribution to economic policy in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours.

 

  1. Eamonn Boylan
  • He has over 40 years of expertise in local government, including Chief Executive of Stockport, Greater Manchester CA and Transport for Greater Manchester.
  • He is currently interim CEO of Manchester City Council and Chair of Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation.
  • Eamonn has significant experience in leading large regeneration projects, including Ancoats and Hulme in Manchester.

 

  1. Helen Gordon
  • Helen is the CEO of Grainger, the UK’s largest publicly listed residential landlord and Build to Rent developer.
  • She has been in position since 2016, having previously working at RBS and Legal & General.
  • Helen has a wealth of experience developing new towns, working on the development of Milton Keynes early in her career.
  • She was also formally the president of the British Property Foundation and is Vice Chair of the European Public Real Estate Association.

 

  1. Kate Henderson
  • Kate is the Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, the voice of England’s housing associations.
  • She is currently a member of several government panels including the Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel and the Social Housing Quality Expert Challenge Panel.
  • She was previously Chief Executive of the Town and Country Planning Association.

 

  1. Nick Raynsford
  • Nick is the current President of the Town and Country Planning Association and author of the 2018 Raynsford Review of Planning.
  • Nick was an MP from 1986 to 2015 and held multiple ministerial positions including Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Minister for London and Minister of State for Local and Regional Government.
  • Since leaving Parliament he has held a number of positions including Deputy Chairman of Crossrail, Chair of CICAIR and a Director of Pocket Living.

 

  1. Sowmya Parthasarathy
  • Sowmya is an architect and urban designer at ARUP, with over 30 years of global experience. She has been involved in award-winning masterplans, strategic plans, and urban design guides, such as London’s 2012’s Olympic Legacy Masterplan.
  • Sowmya is also a UK Design Council Ambassador, serves as a Design Advocate for the Mayor of London and sits on the London Design Review Panel.

 

  1. Dr Wei Yang
  • Dr Wei is a town planner and urban designer. She is CEO of the Digital Task Force for Planning and Chairman of Wei Yang & Partners.
  • Wei currently serves as the Chair of the Construction Industry Council and a member of the UN Habitat World Urban Campaign Steering Committee.
  • Previously, Wei was President of the Royal Town Planning Institute for 2021