The House of Lords Built Environment Committee has launched the second module of its inquiry into new towns and expanded settlements.
Over a series of short, targeted modules, the Committee aims to discover whether new towns and expanded settlements are an effective means of delivering housing and, if so, how to ensure they are successful.
From over 100 initial locations, in October 2025, the New Towns Taskforce identified the most appropriate 12 sites for the next generation of new towns and expanded settlements. The Government aims to have started construction of at least three of these by the time of the next election.
This second module will focus on placemaking and community building, answering the fundamental question: how can we ensure that new towns are places where people want to live and where they will thrive?
The inquiry will consider the essential components of high-quality placemaking and how to apply them to the different proposed sites, all of which are unique and pose very different challenges and opportunities. We will look at issues of design, aesthetics, and green space, and how to ensure that these new towns are accessible and safe for all.
It will also investigate how to build and support communities, including through social and cultural and institutions, and how to ensure that the new communities support healthy living.
Lord Gascoigne, Chairman of the Committee, said: “Now that the New Towns Taskforce has made its recommendations, it’s time to get on with building this next generation of new towns. But we need to make sure that the towns we build are places where people genuinely want to make their homes and raise their families.
That means building communities as well as houses. Each of the sites recommended by the Taskforce has its own distinct characteristics and will pose unique challenges, but we want do all that we can to set out how each of them, and future developments, can succeed.
I’m excited to be starting this next module and truly want to hear from as many different voices as possible. We know from our first module that people of all ages and from all backgrounds have strong opinions, insights and ideas about new towns and we urge all of you to respond to this call for evidence and give us your answers to our questions.”
