Give mayor land value capture powers to reap rewards of new towns, GLA committee urges

The mayor of London should be given new powers to reap the financial benefits of two new towns proposed to be built in the capital, a municipal committee has argued.

Sites in Greenwich and Enfield are currently being examined by the government as part of a programme pushing for developments of 10,000 or more homes.

The Greater London Authority’s planning and regeneration committee this morning published a report outlining the conditions necessary for plans to the new town programme to succeed in the city.

The report argued that new towns could play a major role in meeting housing demand, but that they risk repeating planning mistakes of the past unless they are delivered with clear standards and additional powers for local decision-makers.

The committee said new town plans should guarantee high levels of affordable housing, with social rent prioritised, and ensure transport infrastructure is in place from day one.

It also urged planners to embed high-quality green infrastructure, while telling the mayor to ensure each new town was underpinned by a “clear, place-specific set of design principles” designed in collaboration with communities.

The government was told to introduce new funding grants to support new towns, and to give London’s mayor new powers to capture land value uplifts, which could include “a comprehensive land value tax or borrowing against future tax receipts”.

The cross-party committee that developed the report included Lord Bailey, a former Tory mayoral candidate, as well as Zoë Garbett, the new mayor of Hackney who made headlines recently by joining a legal appeal against Sadiq Khan’s cuts to affordability quotas.

The committee chair, Labour’s James Small-Edwards, said new towns “cannot be just about building homes in isolation” and said the committee’s recommendations “set out the foundations needed to ensure that the proposed new towns work for Londoners from day one.”

The new towns taskforce set up by Labour after coming into office in July 2024 announced a longlist of 12 suitable sites in September 2025, with the government whittling this down to seven in March this year.

Two of these, Crews Hill and Chase Park in Enfield and Thamesmead Waterfront in Greenwich, are located within Greater London. 

The former was identified as one of three “priority interventions” by the government, although a change of leadership in the local authority has put the project into jeopardy.

After the May elections, the local Conservative group took the reins from Labour as a minority administration and promptly announced they would withdraw backing from the new town project.

However, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, along with the mayor of London, quickly announced their intention to press ahead with the scheme, which they believe could deliver 21,000 new homes.

Thamesmead Waterfront, by comparison, was identified by government as a “mature scheme” in need of “targeted support”. A joint venture between Peabody and Lendlease owns large swathes of land in the area and has been working on plans for 15,000 new homes.

Rachel Reeves approved a £1.7 billion extension of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to the 100ha brownfield site, which had been seen as a major obstacle to delivering the site at a high density. 

The government is expected to confirm this summer which sites will be taken forward for development.

Advocacy group BusinessLDN responded to the committee’s report by stressing the “crucial role” new towns have to plan in tackling the housing crisis in the capital.

“Innovative funding models will be essential to moving these plans from the drawing board to delivery so it’s welcome this report backs giving the Mayor the powers needed to unlock value from land to help pay for infrastructure investment,” said Jonathan Seager, the group’s policy delivery director.

“It’s now vital that the Mayor and the Government work together to get shovels in the ground as quickly as possible on the new towns programme, including Enfield and Thamesmead in London.”