TOWN was pleased to join a group of sector leaders at a roundtable in Leeds this week as part of UKREiiF, exploring how New Towns can meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

The session convened a broad cross-section of voices from across the built environment — including planners, designers and developers alongside policymakers and infrastructure specialists. The discussion tackled the complex challenges of New Town delivery, with a focus on planning reform, governance, placemaking, infrastructure funding, and long-term stewardship.

Contributors included Eamonn Boylan, Interim Chief Executive of Homes England, led a strong contingent from the agency, underlining its commitment to driving innovation and delivery in large-scale development. Ian Piper, CEO of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation and Russ Edwards of Latimer Homes brought experiences of large-scale developments.

TOWN Director Jonny Anstead contributed to the discussion by highlighting the importance of diversifying the housing sector in line with the recommendations of the Letwin review. He called for actions to build greater capacity and new approaches to housing delivery. In particular, he emphasised the need to support and develop SME house builders and to identifying early pilot projects to test new approaches that might be of benefit to the New Towns and the people who will live in them.

We’re grateful to Deloitte for bringing this group together.