黑洞社区

Nick Clegg has invited local councils to submit plans for a new generation of 鈥済arden cities鈥�, with the government prepared to back three 15,000-home schemes across the country with a range of support that fell short of new capital funding.

This week the deputy prime minister announced long-awaited plans to back three new 鈥済arden cities鈥�, with the Department for Communities and Local Government publishing a prospectus inviting local authorities to submit plans for schemes in their area.

The prospectus, which comes two year after the government first announced its support for a new generation of garden cities, stated schemes must comprise at least 15,000 homes; must have the full support of all the local authorities where they are sited; must be well connected to existing or planned transport links; and must have 鈥渞obust delivery arrangements鈥�, such as joint venture companies, public private partnerships or publicly-led arms length bodies.

The prospectus added that schemes that comprised a 鈥渟ignificant element of brownfield land will be particularly welcome鈥�.

The prospectus did not define what was meant by a 鈥済arden city鈥�, saying it wanted to support local 鈥渧isions鈥�, but it referred to a set of principles outlined by the Town and Country Planning Association.

The government said it would provide successful schemes with a range of support, including helping councils co-ordinate plans with other key partners, such as the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and other government departments; provide planning support, through the HCA; as well as providing a 鈥渓imited amount鈥� of funding to help with costs of developing the proposals for the scheme.

But the prospectus fell short of promising to back the schemes with fresh capital funding.

Instead it said the government would 鈥渇acilitate access鈥� for bidders into existing funding pots, including the Large Sites Fund, which was launched alongside the Garden Cities prospectus.

Comprising a 拢1bn of funding over the next six years, the Large Sites Fund, which was first announced in the Autumn Statement, is targeted at housing schemes over 1,500 that require investment in local infrastructure to boost their viability. It will be allocated on a competitive basis.

The Garden Cities prospectus said potential schemes must set out how the developments will be financed, particularly how private finance will be leveraged and how the scheme will make the best use of land and assets.

鈥淲here an initial shortfall in funding is identified, but the project appears fundamentally viable, government will work with local partners to identify funding solutions鈥�, the prospectus said.

The prospectus added that expressions of interest were being invited on an 鈥渙ngoing, rolling basis, rather than being subject to any fixed deadline鈥�.

The prospectus comes after George Osborne announced in the Budget that the government would back a new 15,000-home 鈥済arden city鈥� development in the Ebbsfleet quarry, in Kent, with 拢200m of investment.

The prime minister first floated the idea for a new generation of garden cities in early 2012, then in November of that year Clegg promised the government would offer incentives for the creation of imaginative new developments.

At the time, Clegg argued that the UK must 鈥渂uild its way out鈥� of a housing crisis, insisting that it was no longer good enough to think of small-scale developments on the edge of towns.

But the Garden City plans were held up within Whitehall, amid reports the Conservative were blocking the proposals for fear of sparking a backlash from 鈥榥imby鈥� protestors in the lead up to the 2015 general election.

Clegg said: 鈥淕arden cities are communities where future generations will live, work, have children, grow up and grow old.

鈥淚鈥檓 publishing a new garden cities prospectus, which calls for local areas to submit their plans for garden cities that will provide affordable homes, good schools, and jobs for the next generation, while at the same time preserving the countryside.

鈥淭his is a call to arms for visionaries in local areas in need of housing to put forward radical and ambitious proposals to develop their own garden cities.鈥�