Garden Villages

The work of that great rural thinker Matthew Taylor in his pamphlet “Garden Villages – empowering localism to solve the housing crisis.” presages the announcement of support for the development of these new settlements. You should definitely read it – it exposes the mad policy flaws which have seen the amount of greenbelt double in recent times choking off rural housing supply and making large swathes of rural England unsustainable.

This could be a key plank in the fightback – the first Neighbourhood Plan (which set out an innovative rural housing agenda in Upper Eden) was a positive straw in the wind – it was also rooted in pragmatic local enthusiasm for a better housing offer in rural areas, it has been followed by others. The garden village movement builds on the very interesting evidence that rural dwellers often want rather than reject more housing. Ebenezer Howard is smiling down on us….

This article explains:

Fourteen garden villages are to be built across England on sites including a former airfield and green belt land, ministers have said.

The villages, totalling 48,000 homes, will not be extensions of existing small towns or villages, but “distinct new places with their own community facilities”, the government said.

Sites from Cornwall to Cumbria have been identified in the first round of approved locations, making them eligible for a share of a £6m government technical and financial support fund. After completion, the villages may vary in size from 1,500 homes up to 10,000.

The housing minister, Gavin Barwell, said the development of the villages would be locally led by communities rather than central government. “New communities not only deliver homes, they also bring new jobs and facilities and a big boost to local economies,” he said.