Review: Breakfast with Rt Hon Nick Raynsford

SP Broadway was delighted to welcome Rt Hon Nick Raynsford, member of The New Towns Taskforce, as the guest speaker for our latest online Politics of Planning roundtable.

Attendees included representatives from Hallam Land, Savills, Stantec, Greystoke, Barratt Redrow and Taylor Wimpey, and all contributed to the discussion, covering topics including the focus and aims of the Taskforce, the importance of both hard and soft infrastructure, and suggestions for development-related tax reform.

Nick first provided a breakdown of the six workstreams of the Taskforce, including strategic objectives, selection criteria, placemaking, financing, delivery mechanisms and test areas. He then elaborated on the reasoning behind the 10,000 home minimum requirement for locations to be considered by the Taskforce, confirming that this threshold was non-negotiable. Nick stated that the objective was for the Taskforce’s recommendations on the location and delivery of new town locations to be published ahead of the summer parliamentary recess, although an interim report would be submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government early in the New Year.

There was discussion on the importance of effective infrastructure delivery as part of new town development, and concerns around the large up-front costs. There was also a discussion on the capacity constraints faced by both local and national government, as well as means of facilitating large scale developments across council borders.

Our thanks to Rt Hon Nick Raynsford and guests for attending and contributing to such an interesting discussion.

If you would like to attend any of our forthcoming events, please email melisa@spbroadway.com