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Garden cities must be affordable |
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6 Jun 2014, 9:44 PM
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At least 60 per cent of new homes in garden cities should be affordable, and to make garden cities meet the needs of the general population, public sector funding will be required, according to a recent report.
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In one of the key considerations in their report The art of building a garden city: garden city standards for the 21st century, the Town and Country Planning Association said at least 30 per cent of homes in a new garden city must be for social rent and other sub-market housing, ‘shared-equity and low-cost or discounted ownership’, should form at least another 30 per cent – meaning a minimum of 60 per cent affordable housing in garden cities.
The report sets out the principles it thinks are important for creating a modern garden city. It asks for central and local government to work together, stating that ‘leadership and support from central government is essential to the delivery of new garden cities’ and that ‘local leaders have an important role to play in providing certainty of vision and persuading the public about the benefits of new garden city developments’.
It argues for a cross-party, cross-departmental, approach as building a garden city ‘transcends electoral cycles’. It also focuses on the sustainability of the new developments saying that they should ‘demonstrate the highest standards in zero carbon and energy-positive technology’, ‘aim to be water neutral’ and should ‘minimise, and wherever practicable avoid, flood risk’.
The document, which launched today, follows the government’s recently published prospectus Locally-led garden cities’ and consolidates the key lessons learned from the TCPA’s previous research into the challenges of delivering garden cities.
Later in the year, the TCPA will publish guidance on the practical implementation of the garden cities principles to offer additional clarity to local authorities, the private sector and communities interested in creating new garden cities.
Diane Smith, interim chief executive of the TCPA, said: ‘With planning in England currently in a precarious state, we strongly believe that the garden city principles can offer a framework for good planning for the benefit of all communities. The inclusion of the TCPA garden city principles in the CLG locally-led garden cities prospectus was a clear endorsement of the standards for which the TCPA has long campaigned. However, to date there has been no commitment to making these principles part of government policy. We therefore feel that it is vital that all who wish to be involved in the delivery of garden cities have a thorough understanding of what the principles mean today and how, with the correct level of preparation and organisation, they can be used to create the types of beautiful inclusive new places that can deliver significant benefits for current and future generations.’
Credits:: Laura Robertson - Inside Housing
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