Highlights
- Seven new towns named after famous Britons including Queen Elizabeth and Emmeline Pankhurst are planned across England.
- Each town will have at least 10,000 homes with 40 per cent affordable housing.
- A National Housing Bank launches on 1 April backed with up to £16 bn.
The seven sites were chosen from 12 originally put forward by a government taskforce and span areas from south Gloucestershire to London Manchester and Leeds.
Each town will have at least 10,000 homes with 40 per cent affordable housing at least half of which will be available for social rent. Some sites could see as many as 40,000 homes built.
Seven sites revealed
The seven locations are Tempsford in Bedfordshire with up to 40,000 homes near a new East West Rail station Crews Hill and Chase Park in Enfield with up to 21,000 homes Leeds South Bank with up to 20,000 homes and Manchester Victoria North with at least 15,000 homes and a new tram stop.
Thamesmead in Greenwich will get up to 15,000 homes on unused riverside land through a planned Docklands Light Railway extension.
Brabazon in south Gloucestershire will support a research and engineering hub with up to 40,000 homes and Milton Keynes will grow by around 40,000 homes.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said the towns would be built around green spaces good transport and vibrant high streets.
"From the ground up we're planning whole communities with homes jobs transport links and green spaces designed together so we can give families the security and opportunities they deserve," he said.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham called Manchester Victoria North "one of the UK's most ambitious regeneration projects."
The government also confirmed the National Housing Bank will launch on 1 April with up to £16 bn behind it and an extra £400 m over the next decade to help get more homes built across the country.
