Newington's Andrew Ansell takes a look at the Government's plans for the first ever "garden villages".
The Department for Communities and Local Government has wasted no time in making its first big policy announcement of the year. Just two days into 2017, the Department announced plans for the first ever “garden villages”. Despite all the coverage of the announcement one question lingers, will the projects come up smelling of roses?
Whilst the promise of 48,000 new homes being provided through the new garden villages would go some way in solving the housing crisis, the inevitable first question that springs to mind is, given the budget constraints, how exactly will this be financed? In total, the 14 garden villages, from Devon to Derby and Essex, and the three garden towns across England will have access to a £6 million fund over the next two financial years to help bring forward the delivery of these projects. The £6 million fund will enable the relevant local authorities to increase their resources, for example in their planning departments, or pay for key studies or assessments regarding the development proposals. The Government has also sought to highlight that other funding streams will be available for the projects, such as the Starter Homes Fund and funding for affordable housing but as recent reports indicated that the new Dunton Hills garden village scheme alone will cost around £467m, the £6 million is clearly a drop in the ocean.
Furthermore, as clearly acknowledged by Leader of Brentwood Council, Cllr Louise McKinlay, the Dunton Hills Garden Village in Brentwood is “still just an idea” and that “we need to build all of this into our local development plan, liaise with all our partners and continue to discuss with residents and the local parish councils”. As such, it remains to be seen exactly how far and how quickly the sites announced by the Government will progress.
The view of the Minister for Housing and Planning, Gavin Barwell MP, is clearly more optimistic. He stated that “Locally-led garden towns and villages have enormous potential to deliver the homes that communities need” and went further to say that 5,000 housing starts are expected in garden villages, towns and cities by 2020. The Policy Exchange shares the Minister’s optimism and has asserted that “garden villages could help solve the housing crisis”. Despite the apparent political will from the Government and local authority applicants, the announcement has prompted strong criticism from organised local groups who fear the loss of Greenbelt land as well as prompting scepticism from neighbouring authorities. Basildon Council for example, openly criticised the Government’s support for a garden village in neighbouring Brentwood. It is therefore clear that whilst having Government backing, it is not going to be smooth sailing ahead to delivery.We cannot forget that the announcement also heralds imminent changes to the planning system. The Government’s prospectus published in March 2016 promised to strengthen national planning policy, and specifically the New Towns Act 1981, to provide a vehicle for delivering new settlements that are fit for purpose. Moreover, the Government will offer “planning freedoms to support housing growth” including, for example, ensuring that there is greater ability to resist speculative residential planning applications and to continue protecting the Greenbelt. The imminent publication of the White Paper on Housing will shed light on how wide reaching the changes to the planning system will be and exactly how the new garden villages are to be delivered.
Newington’s intelligence-led approach to community consultation and political engagement ideally places us to support for businesses looking to capitalise on the opportunities created by garden villages. With our expertise we can help you navigate the complex local political environment where the proposed garden villages, towns and cities are situated. If you’d like to know more about how Newington’s London, Eastern, North West and Birmingham offices can support you in these areas, please contact Newington’s Managing Director, Phil Briscoe on 07968 807377 or via email at [email protected].
The 14 new garden villages are:
The three new garden towns are:
