The government has confirmed it will progress work on the next generation of new towns across England, following publication of an independent report that recommends 12 locations as potential new towns.

The government says it is determined to begin building in at least three new towns in this parliament and is prepared to progress work on a far larger range of locations if it proves possible.

The government has today published an initial response to the report in which it welcomes all 12 recommended locations and its wider recommendations on delivery and implementation. The government response also states that at this stage sites at Tempsford, Crews Hill and Leeds South Bank look most promising.

A New Towns Unit will also be established by the government to progress development on new towns. The Unit will work with all departments and their agencies to ensure new towns are a test bed for innovation and to unblock barriers to delivery.

The New Towns Taskforce, led by Sir Michael Lyons, was commissioned by the government to explore different approaches to large-scale development. In its report, the taskforce has recommended a mixture of large-scale communities including urban extensions, urban regeneration, and standalone greenfield sites should be built.

It says each new town should have at least 10,000 homes with an ambition for a minimum of 40% affordable housing and half of which will be for social rent. The Taskforce has also set out a range of recommendations for delivery, including the importance of accountable delivery bodies who are able to provide long term certainty for communities in new towns.

A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) will be undertaken to understand the environmental implications of developing new towns. No final decisions on locations will be made until this assessment concludes and preferred locations could change as a result of the process.

The government will be looking for assurance that any location can be effectively and efficiently delivered in partnership with local communities, has a clear economic purpose, and will support economic growth. Different delivery vehicles will also be tested to learn lessons for how future large settlements are delivered and to contribute to a wider transformation of housing supply.

The government will publish the draft proposals and final SEA for consultation in Spring, before confirming the locations that will be progressed as new towns soon after. This will be alongside a full government response to the New Towns Taskforce’s report.

The 12 recommended locations are:

+ A standalone settlement in Adlington, Cheshire East; to serve the growing industries in Greater Manchester and Cheshire, as identified in the government’s Industrial Strategy.

+ A corridor of connected development in South Gloucestershire, across Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc; building in one of the highest productivity areas in the country with a high value research, advanced engineering and technology economy.

+ An expanded development bringing together Chase Park and Crews Hill in Enfield; delivering green development and helping address London’s acute housing need.

+ Redevelopment of the former airbase at Heyford Park in Cherwell; connecting to Oxford and building on the existing progress and commitment to high-quality placemaking; referencing the area’s past and supporting its future in innovative technology industries.

+ Urban development in Leeds; catalysing on the city’s existing economic prospects and capturing the benefits of the governments £2.1 billion local transport funding allocation for the Combined Authority by delivering well-connected, high-quality homes in the South Bank to support the city centre.

+ Inner-city development and densification in Manchester, Victoria North; supporting continued growth and attracting high-skilled workers to service the city’s diverse industries.

+ A standalone settlement in Marlcombe, East Devon; strengthening the region’s labour supply and supporting the Exeter and East Devon Enterprise Zone.

+ A ‘Renewed Town’ in Milton Keynes; reinvigorating the city centre and expanding to the north and east whilst reshaping the way people travel, by delivering a Mass Rapid Transit system.

+ Densified development in Plymouth; evolving Britain’s Ocean City and capitalising on the government’s £4.4 billion investment in HMNB Devonport, Western Europe’s largest naval base.

+ A new settlement in Tempsford, Central Bedfordshire; to maximise the benefits of East West Rail by building a well-connected new town in the heart of the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.

+ The creation of a riverside settlement in Thamesmead, Greenwich; unlocking inaccessible land in the city and improving connectivity if the proposed extension of the Docklands Light Railway can be delivered to enable the development.

+ Expanded development at Worcestershire Parkway, Wychavon; accelerating delivery around the existing train station to help meet regional housing need and act as a model for sustainable, carbon neutral development.

Responding to the government’s New Towns announcement, CPRE’s chief executive, Roger Mortlock, said: “CPRE recognises that well-designed new towns with proper infrastructure have a role to play. Yet with growing pressure on our finite land, all development, including new towns, should follow a brownfield-first approach, led by targets. Too many of these sites will needlessly see great swathes of countryside and the Green Belt lost to development while the list of brownfield sites grows.

“Many rural communities on this list are already faced with a huge hike in housing numbers following the government’s recalculation of the formula, unrelated to local housing need or demand. Faced with a new town, housing targets in these areas should be radically reduced to reflect the huge changes to their communities that a new town will bring.

“The focus in the Taskforce’s report on urban regeneration, a new approach to housing density and affordable housing is welcome, but the definition of affordable needs rethinking and matching to local incomes if it is to tackle the housing crisis.

“There is a massive opportunity to rethink how we build new places, faced with the climate and nature crises, that still needs more emphasis. Putting nature at the heart of these communities is not the icing on the cake; it should be the starting point.”