Landscape-led approach key to the success of governments 12 'new towns'

The government’s recent announcement of 12 new towns sets out a huge opportunity to meet housing demand and create places that people will want to live, work and invest in for the long term. These new towns could deliver more than 300,000 new homes over the coming decades, alongside schools, healthcare, employment space, open spaces and cultural facilities.

We know from experience that the success of a new town relies on how well green and blue infrastructure, movement networks, and community spaces are integrated from the start.  If they’re designed well, these towns can open up access to affordable, sustainable homes, help tackle climate change with smart green infrastructure, support local economies through new jobs, and improve daily life by making nature, walking, and public space part of every neighbourhood.

Our practice has been involved in the design and delivery of major new communities and urban extensions including Elephant Park, London, West of Ifield, West Sussex, Chalgrove, South Oxfordshire, Tendring and Colchester Borders Garden Community, Essex, Prince William of Gloucester Barracks, Lincolnshire  and East Hemel, Hertfordshire. On each project, we’ve worked alongside developers and local authorities to ensure landscape-led design builds identity and unlocks long-term resilience and community stewardship.

Get in touch with us to explore how our landscape-led approach can help you deliver new communities where nature, resilience and identity are built in from the start, and where people and places thrive for the long term.

Image left: West of Ifield Garden Community in West Sussex