This extension of the existing garden towns programme will see the new villages gain access to a £6m fund over the next two financial years. The money will be used to unlock the capacity of sites, and provide additional resources and expertise to speed up construction.
The three new garden towns will be built in Aylesbury, Taunton and Harlow & Gilton, supported by a further £1.4m of government funding, also announced yesterday. This will bring the total number of planned garden towns to seven.
The villages range in size between 1,500 and 10,000 homes, and according to a statement, “continue the government’s commitment to support locally led development and make sure this is a country that works for everyone”.
Altogether, the scheme has the capacity to provide around 200,000 new homes across the country. According to the government, the garden towns and villages will be distinct new places with their own community facilities, instead of extensions to existing urban areas.
Today, the government also gave the green light for thousands of new starter homes to be built on brownfield sites, with 30 local authority partnerships chosen to spearhead the scheme.
Gavin Barwell, housing and planning minister, said: “Locally led garden towns and villages have enormous potential to deliver the homes that communities need.”
He said: “New communities not only deliver homes, they also bring new jobs and facilities and a big boost to local economies.”
The 14 new garden villages are as follows:
- 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
