The government has indicated that it will seek to promote housebuilding through new towns. The development of new towns is a long-term process and, in most cases, will only lead to the completion of additional housing in at least five years time. In some cases, the introduction of new towns into an already complex planning system will cause confusion, so delaying investment. The experience of the post-war new towns suggests, in any case, that the long-term contribution to housebuilding is likely to prove small or insignificant.
Housing shortages and lack of infrastructure investment is a pressing issue that deserves action, now. We need an investment strategy that links the present to the future and a spatial strategy that links the proposed new towns to their local and regional context.
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