Communities with ideas for a new generation of garden cities will receive support from the government to turn their ambitions into reality, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles have announced.
A prospectus published today will help communities work up proposals for ambitious new developments, which are locally-led, include at least 15,000 homes and have the backing of existing residents.
There is genuine enthusiasm and ambition for growth in communities across the country, but new developments must be well-designed, and bring together high-quality homes, jobs, and green spaces in communities where people want to live raise their children.
We want to work closely with areas which bring forward strong expressions of interest to help them develop their proposals, understand the barriers to delivery and offer government brokerage and support through the Large Sites scheme and other existing schemes where it can help to unblock these.
Ministers believe these locally-led developments will play a crucial role in delivering the number of new homes the country needs, but it is vital that they are not imposed from above.
That’s why today the government also invited bids for the £1 billion of investment announced in the 2013 Autumn Statement to unlock local housing schemes of over 1,500 homes, which have their plans in place but need assistance to get the development off the ground.
The funding will unlock up to 250,000 new homes between 2015 and 2020, and provide a springboard for successful bidders who also want to deliver locally-led garden cities.
Investment will be provided through the local infrastructure fund, which is already accelerating development of 69,000 homes in areas such as Cranbrook in Devon, and Wokingham in Berkshire.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "Garden cities are communities where future generations will live, work, have children, grow up and grow old.
"Today I’m publishing a new garden cities prospectus, which calls for local areas to submit their plans for garden cities that will provide affordable homes, good schools, and jobs for the next generation, while at the same time preserving the countryside.
"This is a call to arms for visionaries in local areas in need of housing to put forward radical and ambitious proposals to develop their own garden cities."
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: "The coalition government scrapped top-down building targets, along with the last administration’s failed eco-towns programme, which built nothing but resentment.
"Instead, this government is committed to working with local communities who want to build more homes in attractive and sustainable developments where people can live and raise their families.
"Our £1 billion large housing sites infrastructure fund and package of support will help deliver locally-led developments in communities that want more growth and jobs in their area. It will also assist those areas with ideas for a new generation of garden cities, so they can turn their ambitions into reality."
New garden cities can incorporate the principles that people most value, such as quality design, gardens, open green spaces and community facilities.
Planning a significant new scheme from scratch can deliver major benefits that are hard to achieve through smaller, piecemeal, developments. Larger settlements can be designed with long-term local needs in mind, include good transport connections, and use previously developed brownfield land wherever possible.
The government wants the new garden cities to be locally-led, but planning such a complex project will be a challenge for any community, so local areas will be offered support to help deliver their ambitions.
Ministers will welcome proposals that reuse brownfield sites that have been previously developed, provided that they are not of high environmental value. Proposals should also have the support of the local council, including at district and county level in 2-tier areas.
