2 March 2021
Amid public concerns over quality of development, ‘21st Century New Communities: Raising the Ambition’ sets out the principles and foundations for successful large-scale development and its potential role as part of the solution to the UK’s housing crisis.
The Urban Land Institute UK (ULI UK) and urban design and planning practice Prior + Partners, have today launched ‘21st Century New Communities: Raising the ambition’ – a new report that identifies the attributes which define successful new communities and a new set of principles and foundations for success which will, together, establish a new paradigm for large-scale development to unite and inspire all those involved in the delivery of new towns, villages and urban extensions.
The Office for National Statistics projects that the number of households in England will increase to around 28 million by 2039, requiring an average of more than 200,000 new homes to be built per year. To meet this need, along with addressing existing shortfalls, the UK Government’s stated aim is to supply 300,000 new homes per annum by the mid-2020s, and one million new homes by the end of the current parliament. As a part of this drive, the government has provided funding through its Garden Communities Programme for almost 50 large scale new developments. Meanwhile, the government’s proposed planning reforms (Planning for the future) are intended to modernise and streamline the process of delivering new homes, including through the identification of three categories of land for Local Plan-making. This includes so-called ‘Growth areas’ suitable for substantial development such as new settlements and urban extensions.
Alongside responsible development of brownfield land and high-density urban regeneration, “21st Century New Communities” recognises, therefore, the long-term role that large scale development such as new towns and garden cities may play in addressing the UK’s chronic housing shortage while providing unique opportunities to explore and demonstrate new models of creating thriving, sustainable communities.
Data gathered by ULI UK in collaboration with YouGov has revealed the public’s opinions on the quality of these developments as well as the factors which would influence support for a large development. In this context, “21st Century New Communities’ is intended to re-invigorate the housing debate and encourage action which can help engender lasting and positive change to the way in which large scale new development is approached in the UK.
Vanessa Hale, Chair, ULI UK, said:
“Everyone is well-aware of the housing crisis which the UK is facing, but the built environment industry and public sector tasked with meeting that challenge are facing their own crisis: a crisis of public confidence that not only can it deliver required housing volumes but that large-scale new development can be part of the solution which meets the needs of local communities with high-quality, sustainable places where people will, fundamentally, love living.
“We know that the industry possesses the skills to deliver amazing places, as evidenced by the quality of some of our large-scale urban regeneration schemes, but also that we can and must do better to raise the level of ambition for what new developments can provide.
“Drawing on examples of best practice, this report builds on previous work to date exploring how to address the supply, diversity, and quality of UK housing and, we hope, provides a new framework for successful and sustainable new community development.”
According to the public survey, of those respondents who provided an opinion more than two thirds (67%) felt that the quality of current new community development is poor overall.
Similarly, of those who gave an opinion an overwhelming majority of the public (78%) have a significant lack of confidence in the industry to deliver development that is in the best interests of local communities.
ULI UK and YouGov also analysed the factors which might lead individuals to support the creation of a new community in their local area. Green space and parks were the number one factor, followed by affordable housing and provision for wildlife habitats and biodiversity.*
These factors correspond with the attributes which “21st Century New Communities” identifies as being fundamental to successful development, with the report defining the ideal new community as: healthy; productive; thriving; distinctive; resilient; convenient.
Jason Prior, Prior + Partners, commented:
“Now is the time to set a new ambition for the design and delivery of new communities, to create great places that are fit for the 21st century and beyond. The UK’s housing challenge is deep and the creation of high-quality new community developments that are distinctive, resilient and well connected, where people can live healthy and productive lifestyles, can be part of its solution.
“These large-scale developments present a real opportunity to deliver differently. The climate emergency, demographic shifts and technological change, to say nothing of Covid-19, have all combined to make us re-evaluate what we want from our homes and neighbourhoods. Future new communities will need to be very different to those of the recent past to be truly inspirational and sustainable places to live and they must focus centrally on what it is that the people who live in them value most. Delivering on this ambition will require robust engagement, new stewardship models and new thinking on funding and investment from both the public and private sector. This will ensure that there is early and sustainable investment in placemaking and strategic infrastructure which are central to effective community building and to delivering both economic and social value.
“Through being bold and ambitious, the development of new communities can create fantastic new places to live, with positive impacts which extend far beyond their boundaries.”
The report, ‘21st Century New Communities: Raising the Ambition‘, was launched at a virtual event on Tuesday 2 March, the recording of which will soon be available to view on Knowledge Finder. It will be followed by a programme of events and engagement activity throughout 2021.
Notes to editors
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2057 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 16th – 17th February 2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
*For this question, respondents were asked to select their top five factors from a shortlist of 15.
Media contact: Infinite Global: Tal Donahue, [email protected], 020 7269 1430