MPs call to re-evaluate new towns policy

16 July 2008

The Government has been urged by MPs to evaluate the new towns programme before embarking on a drive to build the next generation.

The Department for Communities and Local Government’s predecessor had pledged to carry out an evaluation after backbenchers urged it to ‘identify good practice and mistakes before any further major new settlements are considered’.

The Government has insisted that lessons have been learned and had influenced its approach to the eco towns programme. But the select committee for communities and local government last week claimed the Government response to the MPs’ call had been ‘partial and half-hearted,’ and the post-war new towns had still not been evaluated.

The Town and Country Planning Association, a proponent of new towns, had urged a consideration of ‘what was good and what was bad’ about the post-war schemes. MPs said bus services were often inadequate in new towns, even though some development corporations had included public transport provision within their masterplans. There are fears that eco towns will be car-dependent, despite good intentions.

The Government has promised a sustainability appraisal of proposals for eco towns by the end of the month, and a final decision on which eco towns it will support, in the autumn.

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MPs call to re-evaluate new towns policy

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