You can’t have missed that the government is trying to achieve a gear shift in the number of new homes being built across the country. The national mission to deliver 1.5 million homes and the latest announcement on New Towns signal strong ambition. What is far less clear is how these enormous numbers will be achieved in practice and what kind of places will emerge as a result. For London, where the housing crisis is acute, the stakes are especially high.
Two of the proposed seven New Towns are at Crews Hill and Chase Park in Enfield, and in Thamesmead, where a potential DLR extension could reshape one of the capital’s most significant regeneration areas. These are extensions to existing communities and are, in effect, London’s suburbs. ‘Suburbia’ still brings to mind a certain type of place: single homes rather than flats, cars on driveways instead of public transport, and quiet roads with a corner shop rather than buzzing high streets. Yet if London is to meet its housing need and support long term economic growth, this will not be enough – we need a new model for our suburbs.
