The new towns programme presents an opportunity to establish a more connected, modern and resilient approach to housing delivery, argues Autodesk’s Nathan Brown.
The government has identified seven new areas for development as part of its new towns initiative, supporting its commitment to deliver 1.5 million homes by the next election. With each location expected to contain at least 10,000 new housing units, the success of this ambitious project will ultimately depend on delivery.
However, the current planning system remains fragmented with data spread across organisations, resulting in inefficiencies and delays that impact the government’s targets. Projects of this scale rely on the coordination of complex infrastructure, multiple stakeholders and long timelines, signalling the need for a more connected approach to planning and delivery.
The new towns programme offers the rare opportunity to modernise the planning system and establish a blueprint for future housing delivery. Having the right digital tools is key to ensuring speed, efficiency and consistency across the housebuilding pipeline. At the same time, embedding readily available technology from the beginning will help streamline decision-making, improve collaboration and reduce costly delays.
Workforce training will be essential to ensuring that these new tools are adopted successfully. But with 93% of planning departments reporting skills gaps, there is already an urgent need to invest in the next generation of planners and developers. By upskilling the workforce and introducing new technology, the new towns programme has the potential not only to accelerate housebuilding, but also to serve as a model for national planning reform.
Why the planning systems needs modernisation
According to a Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government report, 194 delays were found in the planning system across 80 case studies, signalling persistent inefficiencies that must be addressed to improve housing delivery. The government recognises these challenges and the importance of embracing digital tools to ensure the success of the new towns initiative. In fact, it has repeatedly stated its intent to pass the programme through a separate, expedited process.
“Having the right digital tools are key to ensuring speed, efficiency and consistency across the housebuilding pipeline.”
If we’re serious about delivering new towns at pace and to the quality expected by the public, planning needs to be far more connected from the outset. Digital tools must be leveraged to allow data to flow smoothly across institutions, while inconsistencies can be identified much more quickly and delays tackled directly.
While ambitious, the new towns programme has the potential to act as a catalyst for planning reform – an opportunity to reset our planning system across the board. But exactly what this looks like is yet to be determined, and any improvements must also translate into schemes that can deliver financially at scale.
Tackling the viability gap
The viability gap – where development costs exceed end value – is growing, with costs up 17% since 2022. The scale of the new towns programme only amplifies the issue and fragmented workflows make it more challenging to test interdependencies and manage costs effectively.
Digital planning tools offer a solution. AI-powered cloud software and integrated parcel-level design across BIM and GIS environments enable greater collaboration and transparency. These systems allow land valuation models, infrastructure cost assessments and architectural designs to be accessed on a collaborative platform.
The impact is significant. Cloud-based spatial modelling has been shown to cut analysis time from six weeks or more to just six minutes. Meanwhile, cloud-based planning and design environments could reduce the design phase from 10-12 months to a matter of weeks for a 10,000-home development. Freeing up capacity in this way will help sustain the pace of delivery that ambition demands.
To ensure digital tools are used consistently across the ecosystem, the industry needs to adopt shared standards and interoperable systems. Embedding this requirement at programme level will accelerate validation, improve delivery confidence and make large-scale developments more financially viable.
Investing in the next generation of planners and developers
Equally important is ensuring we have the skilled workforce in place as new technologies are introduced. The government has already invested £625m to attract and train the next generation of construction workers, while announcing an LGA recruitment drive for new local authority planners.
“Establishing digital training within New Town Development Corporations will lay the foundation for a more efficient planning system.”
However, by partnering with private industry, the government can do more to support experienced planners in adopting existing cloud-based technologies. No prior technological experience is needed, with users able to begin using the analyses unlocked by AI-driven, cloud-based software within hours. The accessibility of these tools means upskilling the existing workforce can address the planning backlog and support the government’s ambitions.
The Tony Blair Institute estimates that AI could lead to 35% time-saving across local government, but to realise these benefits, a coordinated national digital skills programme is needed. Establishing digital training within New Town Development Corporations will allow the government to address immediate capacity constraints and lay the foundation for a more efficient planning system.
New towns as a model for planning reform
New towns present an opportunity to not only rethink how large-scale housing projects are planned and delivered, but also to establish a more connected, modern and resilient approach to housing delivery.
Creating new communities at the scale and speed required will depend on greater coordination across the planning system. This requires integrating housing, transport, energy and wider infrastructure from the beginning, while also ensuring that everyone is working from a clear and unified view of each project.
By embracing digital tools and new technologies that enhance data sharing and collaboration, we can improve transparency to communities, reduce delays and drive more efficient delivery at every stage of the process.
