Clarion development director criticises government new towns as ‘lacking ambition’

The development director of Clarion has said he is “underwhelmed” by the government’s new towns programme and criticised some of the projects announced so far for being too small.

Richard Cook told an audience at UKREiiF that the plan for seven new towns is “lacking ambition” and questioned whether all of the proposed schemes could be regarded as towns.

“I’ve got to be honest, when we heard the announcement two years ago from the government that we’re going to have new towns, I thought they were going to announce five Milton Keynes, not little bolt-ons,” Cook said.

He argued that the Leeds South Bank scheme, which was designated as a new town site last year but started construction in 2021 following approval of a masterplan by the local council in 2018, “isn’t a new town, that’s regeneration of a city”. 

He added: “So I was a little bit underwhelmed by the new towns programme, I’m gonna be honest with you.”

Cook was speaking at a UKREiiF panel discussion, hosted by contractor Caddick and developer Moda, on the viability of new towns proposed under the government programme.

Panellists, including Stantec planning director Jane Beckett and Caddick director Chris Procter, also called on the government to provide more funding support for essential infrastructure early in the development of the schemes.

In March this year, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government named seven new town locations it proposed to support through its funding programme from a list of 12 sites recommended by the new towns taskforce in 2025.

Each location is expected to deliver at least 10,000 new homes with up to 40,000 homes to be built at Tempsford in Bedfordshire and another 40,000 at Brabazon in South Gloucestershire.

The list also includes inner-city developments, with 20,000 homes at Leeds South Bank, 15,000 at Victoria North in Manchester and 15,000 at Thamesmead in Greenwich.