The government has backed 14 new garden villages, which will see a significant number of new homes delivered across England
Government backing has been given to a raft of new garden villages. The scheme, which is an expansion of the existing garden towns programme, expects to deliver more than 48,000 homes at 14 new sites.
The government said these smaller projects would comprise of between 1,500 and 10,000 new homes in areas such as Devon, Derbyshire, Cornwall, and Cumbria.
The £6m fund will run over the next two financial years and will aid the government’s commitment to support locally-led development. The funding will prevent delays with construction, while unlocking the full capacity of sites.
The number of garden towns also to expand
A number of new garden towns were also announced by the government. These will be located in Aylesbury, Taunton, and Harlow & Gilston. A further budget of £1.4m will be used to support these new towns.
Housing and Planning Minister Gavin Barwell said: “Locally-led garden towns and villages have enormous potential to deliver the homes that communities need.
“New communities not only deliver homes, they also bring new jobs and facilities and a big boost to local economies. These places combined could provide almost 200,000 homes.”
The 14 new garden villages will be located in the following places:
- Long Marston in Stratford-on-Avon
- Oxfordshire Cotswold in West Oxfordshire
- Deenethorpe in East Northants
- Culm in Mid Devon
- Welborne near Fareham in Hampshire
- West Carclaze in Cornwall
- Dunton Hills near Brentwood, Essex
- Spitalgate Heath in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire
- Halsnead in Knowsley, Merseyside
- Longcross in Runnymede and Surrey Heath
- Bailrigg in Lancaster
- Infinity Garden Village in South Derbyshire and Derby City area
- St Cuthberts near Carlisle City, Cumbria
- North Cheshire in Cheshire East
The 3 new garden towns are:
- Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
- Taunton, Somerset
- Harlow & Gilston, Essex and Hertfordshire
High interest in the development of garden villages could see a further call for expressions of interest run in 2017.
