The timetable for the New Towns Programme has slipped. Government said in March that it expected to confirm final locations later in summer 2026, but Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook has now said the locations and environmental assessments will be published before the end of 2026.
The seven locations in the March consultation remain proposals. This is a change to the timetable, not an announcement that any of them has been approved.
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What has changed in the New Towns Programme timetable?
The government launched its New Towns Draft Programme consultation on 23 March 2026.
That consultation said the government intended to publish final proposals and confirm the programme locations later in summer 2026, after completing the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulations work.
Summer has now passed without that announcement.
Giving evidence to the House of Lords Built Environment Committee on 1 September, Matthew Pennycook said the department had received nearly 3,000 consultation responses and was working through the feedback. He said the government response and environmental assessments would be published before the end of the year, with the final locations announced at that point.
The committee evidence session can be watched on the UK Parliament website.
The timetable had already begun to soften
The September evidence is the clearest latest statement, but the wording had already become less precise during the summer.
In a June parliamentary answer, ministers said final locations would be confirmed “later this year”, rather than repeating the March promise of later in summer. The latest evidence now puts an outer date on that revised position: before the end of 2026.
For authorities, landowners and communities affected by the proposals, that means a few more months of uncertainty over which locations will actually make the final programme.
Which seven locations are still proposed?
The draft programme currently identifies seven locations:
- Tempsford
- Crews Hill and Chase Park, Enfield
- Leeds South Bank
- Manchester Victoria North
- Thamesmead, Greenwich
- Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc, South Gloucestershire
- Milton Keynes
They are at different stages and would need different forms of government intervention. The draft programme itself describes them as proposed locations, subject to consultation and environmental assessment.
That distinction matters. None of the seven has suddenly gained planning permission, a final development boundary or a completed delivery framework simply because it appears on the shortlist.
What happens after the locations are confirmed?
Confirmation of a New Towns Programme location would be an important strategic decision, but it would not remove the need for the next planning and delivery stages.
Detailed boundaries, infrastructure, environmental mitigation, delivery mechanisms and the relationship with local plan-making will still have to be worked through. The government has also made clear that the March consultation is only one stage in shaping the proposals.
For anyone following the policy background, our National Planning Policy Framework guide covers the current national policy position, while our page on Spatial Development Strategies explains the wider strategic-planning tier now taking shape in England.
Why the delay matters
The programme is intended to support very large-scale growth over decades. Government has said each proposed location has the potential for at least 10,000 homes, with some considerably larger.
That makes the final choice relevant well beyond the seven places themselves. It will affect infrastructure planning, environmental assessment, local plans and the way national housing growth is distributed.
For now, though, the position is simple: the shortlist is still a shortlist, and the decision that had been expected in summer is now due before the end of 2026.
Created: 3rd September 2026: New Towns Programme
