The residents of Tempsford await news about whether their village will be at the centre of the government’s New Towns announcement, which is due very shortly. With a recommendation expected that could potentially radically transform not only Tempsford but from St Neots to Sandy, even as far as Biggleswade, Richard is asking for comments on the principles laid out by the New Towns Taskforce,
Richard Fuller MP said:
As we await the announcement, I thought it would be useful to restate the principles the New Towns Commission proposed in their Interim Report and ask for your feedback on what these should mean in substance (rather than PR) ….and what is missing.
The Interim Report lists ten items under the heading “the next generation of new towns will…”:
𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐝 - have a clear long term vision for each town, with a distinct identity, so they become places residents are proud to call home.
𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 - be built at a higher density that enables residents to walk to local amenities, take advantage of easier travel further afield and relax in shared, inclusive, open green spaces close to home.
𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - provide jobs for residents and enable businesses to grow, supporting the government’s economic growth mission
𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞 - promote healthy lives, providing communities with easy access to parks and nature.
𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 - have a clear plan for maintaining the town through its lifetime, to ensure it continues to meet residents’ needs.
𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 - provide a diverse range of high-quality housing with a range of housing types to suit the needs of a balanced community, including affordable housing and homes for social rent. provide a diverse range of high-quality housing with a range of housing types to suit the needs of a balanced community, including affordable housing and homes for social rent.
Community Engagement - establish clear and effective ways to engage the local community in shaping the vision and goals for the area
Social Infrastructure - focus on building thriving communities, ensuring access to good schools, cultural and sporting facilities, healthcare and hospitals to ensure new residents have the facilities they need from the outset.
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 - have effective public transport within the town itself as well as links to wider transport networks and support cycling and walking.
𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 - support climate resilience and biodiversity and be ambitious in meeting environmental targets, meaning cleaner air, more parks and green spaces that are better for wellbeing.
So, what do you think?
Which of these principles do you think are important? Do you have issues with any of them? What more detail would be helpful?
And of course, what do you think of the whole proposal? Should Tempsford – which the I Newspaper reported would be “the only genuinely new town included in a plan for as many 12 developments to be revealed this summer.”- be singled out in this way? And what about the potential impact on residents in Potton, or Sandy, and the villages and countryside of East Bedfordshire?
The interim update on the new towns programme from February 2025 can be read at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67ad8ff5e400ae623383250b/Building_new_towns_for_the_future.pdf
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