Government's seven new town locations scored against real-world demand data
Government's seven new town locations scored against real-world demand data
Tuesday 31 Mar 2026The government’s new town strategy is one part of its efforts to address the UK’s housing shortage through large-scale development. However, its success depends less on the quantity of housing built and more on where it is built.
New analysis by the Warwick economists behind the Where to Build housing demand mapping tool have tested the government’s seven-site shortlist against measures of likely success, and ranked the sites to help policymakers decide which to finally approve. Their findings highlight stark differences across the proposed sites. Locations in Manchester and Leeds which benefit from strong existing demand and connectivity make them well-positioned for rapid and successful development. While others, particularly Tempsford and Enfield, face significant structural challenges that may limit their viability.
Nikhil Datta explains:
“Whether large new developments succeed or fail depends crucially on pre-existing demand for housing in the area. And that housing demand is driven by underlying economic fundamentals– such as access to jobs, as well as services and amenities.
“Housing supply does not automatically generate demand. So there is a real danger that if demand is not taken into account, these New Towns could be built in the wrong places.”
In A Scorecard for the Seven New Towns, Nikhil Datta and Amrita Kulka test each of the seven shortlisted sights against their data on real-world demand at neighbourhood level, access to jobs, availability of amenities such as schools, shops, restaurants and healthcare, and connectivity. They also take into account whether new transport links are part of the proposals.
Ranked against these criteria, the scorecard shows:
