A former Bank of England economist and ex-BBC chairman will decide where proposed new towns should be built.
Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner appointed Kate Barker as deputy chair and Sir Michael Lyons as chair of the New Towns taskforce. Both have authored major housing reviews that criticised poor housing supply in the UK, Lyons’s in 2014 and Barker’s in 2004.
Over the next year, Lyons and Barker will ask communities in different areas how they would like new developments to be designed. The aim is to produce a report within 12 months recommending the locations of new towns containing at least 10,000 homes.
Rayner said: “With Sir Michael in the driving seat, I know his taskforce will work together with local people to help us decide on the right places for these new towns, delivering more homes, jobs and green spaces.”
The deputy PM had already pledged a taskforce in May – the day before the general election was called – when she announced plans to build a series of new towns.
In a letter to local authorities yesterday, Rayner said that the proposed new towns would be a mix of greenfield sites, urban extensions and urban regeneration schemes.
Developers will deliver schemes according to a “New Towns Code”, targeting 40 per cent affordable housing, and providing adequate infrastructure and public services. Some of the new towns will be extensions of existing settlements, the government said.
Lyons said he was proud to lead the taskforce “to make sure new towns deliver on the government’s vision and meet the needs of local people”.
He said: “Our mission begins today and we will work closely with local leaders and their communities, as well as the wider development and investment sectors, to make sure these new towns are built in the right places.”
Lyons chairs development consultancy SQW and the English Cities Fund – a joint venture between government agency Homes England, Morgan Sindall’s development arm Muse and investment group Legal and General. The partnership is developing large residential-led schemes in Salford, Canning Town and Stockport.
Lyons spent 17 years as chief executive of three local authorities – Wolverhampton Borough Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Birmingham City Council – and received a knighthood for services to local government in 2000.
He previously sat on the boards of homebuilders Redrow and Sage, advised real estate firm CBRE on regeneration and chaired the BBC.
Barker was chief economic adviser to the Confederation of British Industry between 1994 and 2001, before sitting on the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee for the next nine years. She has acted as a commissioner for government advisory body the National Infrastructure Commission, and has worked as a non-executive director for Taylor Wimpey.
Barker said: “I am enthusiastic about working with Sir Michael on proposals for the new towns badly needed to enable more households to live in homes where they can flourish. It will be vital to ensure the locations will also support economic growth over coming decades.”
