Up to 40 garden cities ‘needed to meet housing demand’

28 Aug 14
As many as 40 new garden cities may be needed across the country within the next 20 years to solve the UK’s housing crisis, according to submissions for the Wolfson Economics Prize.

By Richard Johnstone | 28 August 2014

As many as 40 new garden cities may be needed across the country within the next 20 years to solve the UK’s housing crisis, according to submissions for the Wolfson Economics Prize.

The prize, which is run by the Policy Exchange think-tank, is seeking proposals on where and how to construct new cities.

Ahead of an announcement of the winning proposal on September 3, a shortlist of five entries has been published today.

Three of the five finalists independently suggest an ambitious programme of 30-40 new garden cities to meet future housing needs.

Lord Wolfson, the founder of the prize – which at £250,000 is the second-biggest prize in the world, after the Nobel Prize – said there was an urgent need to build more houses in Britain.

‘I am delighted that this year’s Wolfson Economics Prize has generated so many powerful and creative proposals for new garden cities,’ he said. ‘Together these entries present an overwhelming argument in favour of a new approach to solving our housing crisis.’

Among the five finalists, housing charity Shelter has proposed a new garden city on the Hoo Peninsula in Medway, Kent, that will have around 15,000 homes built over 15 years. The entry has also proposed establishing a new development model designed to attract massive private investment into the provision of high quality homes, jobs, services and infrastructure.

Other finalists include planning and design consultancy Barton Willmore’s suggestion to establish four garden city ‘types’, including the 'greening' of existing new towns, to deliver up to 40 new garden cities. Each garden city would deliver between 40,000 and 50,000 homes over the next 25 years.

David Rudlin has proposed the near-doubling of existing large towns, such as Oxford, in line with garden city principles, to provide 86,000 new homes for 150,000 people built over 30-35 years.

Wei Yang & Partners and Peter Freeman argue that an ‘arc’ from Southampton to Oxford to Cambridge to Felixstowe represents the best location for a first round of new garden cities.

Chris Blundell has argued that a garden city should be developed south-east of Maidstone in Kent to accommodate around 15,000 homes alongside transport improvements such a new station on the High Speed 1 rail line.

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