29th September 2025
Green space management charity urges government to maximise the potential of new towns, focusing on long-term stewardship and community consultation
The UK’s premier green space management charity, the Land Trust has today responded to the New Towns Taskforce Report to Government, published on Sunday 28 September.
Alan Carter, Chief Executive at the Land Trust said: “The New Towns Taskforce Final Report places a strong emphasis on placemaking as a foundation for the next generation of new towns. However, in order to realise these plans, government needs to make some firm decisions on stewardship, defining how it will operate, and in turn offering assurance to new and existing communities across the country.
“The Taskforce’s vision aligns closely with the Land Trust’s mission to ensure that everyone has access to well-maintained, high-quality green spaces that support health, wellbeing, and community cohesion. The Land Trust is uniquely positioned to help deliver on the report’s recommendations, drawing on decades of experience in managing parks, woodlands, nature reserves, together with the numerous green spaces and wider public realm across many significant landscape led residential developments across the country.
“New towns must be about more than houses – they must be about thriving communities with accessible, well-managed green spaces at their heart, and importantly, developed in partnership with local communities.
“Well-designed and managed green spaces don’t just look good – they improve health, wellbeing, and bring communities together, as the Taskforce rightly recognises. They can play a significant part in delivering ongoing social, environmental and economic benefits for local communities.”
The Land Trust calculates that 300,000 new homes across the proposed 12 new towns could deliver an estimated £1billion a year in social value*. However, this will not just happen by chance. The Land Trust stands ready to work in partnership with government, developers, and local communities to design and deliver sustainable stewardship models that guarantee these benefits endure for generations to come.
Carter continued: “The potential is significant, but good quality stewardship only works if it is properly planned and managed in a fair and equitable way. Our own research has shown that transparency, value for money, accountability, quality of service and good communication** are the five most important factors for residents when it comes to the management of residential development.”
Building on a proven track record of delivering long-term stewardship solutions, the Land Trust has positioned itself at the forefront of driving improvements across the stewardship sector – providing fairness, transparency, involvement and control for residents.
Carter concluded: “We are keen to work with government to help shape plans and to ensure that the report’s objectives are truly met, and benefits maximised. The report poses a once in a generation opportunity to design these new towns to meet the needs of our communities and environment for generations to come.”
Alan Carter is currently attending the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool and is available for further comment or interview.
Ends
Notes to editors
The Taskforce report is available here:
New Towns Taskforce: Report to government – GOV.UK
The Trust’s analysis used figures from an Economic and Social Value model created to measure the benefits delivered across health and wellbeing, the environment and biodiversity, community and place, education, as well the economic benefits.
*Figure of £1b based upon the social value delivered at Beaulieu development, Chelmsford, Essex across 1,341 units. The Land Trust has managed this development since 2016.
Total social value delivered at Beaulieu in 2022/23 = £4,338,629
£4,338,629/1,341 units = £3,235.36838
£3,235.36838 x 300,000 = £970,608,000.00
** Residents research carried out in August 2025, 357 Land Trust residents took part in the online, Survey Monkey research.