Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP has called for an increase in garden towns in England and announced a new garden communities programme.
A new garden communiteis programme will, the Government hopes, see more high quality homes built and green spaces created. It will also, the Government believes, expand on plans for more locally-led developments.
The garden towns push in England is part of government’s ambition to build 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.
Councils across England, and private developers who have secured support from local authorities, will be able to apply for a place on the programme. The winning bidders will receive tailored advice and potential grant funding for help with staffing or environmental assessments; part of the planning process for new garden towns.
Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said: “This plan is about the government working with councils and developers to get great homes in keeping with beautiful areas in England. We want to help local authorities build strong and vibrant communities where people want to live, work, and raise families. Our garden communities programme already has the potential to provide over 200,000 new homes by 2050, and we want to go further.”
Garden communities can take the form of new villages, towns or cities and have the potential to deliver homes at an increased scale, with projects ranging in size from 10,000 to 40,000 homes.
23 locally-led garden communities already receiving funding support and this new announcement signals the start of a three month application process, with successful garden community proposals being announced later in the New Year.
The new ‘garden communities prospectus’ can be found here.
