Richard Bonner, MD Buildings and Places, Atkins Realis shares his thoughts on the important role Placemaking has in ensuring the Government’s ambitious house building targets doesn’t just build homes but creates communities. The Government’s announcement of seven new towns and their locations has brought welcome clarity to the sector and represents a rare opportunity to reshape how we plan, design and deliver places for the future.
It also creates momentum for a wider pipeline of large scale, mixed use developments capable of inspiring, creating and sustaining new communities at scale, pace and quality.
But this is not simply about creating new housing at speed; it is about building communities that will support people’s lives, livelihoods and wellbeing for decades to come.
Realising this opportunity demands that we learn from past programmes, recognise the complexity of what lies ahead, and lead with a level of integration and collaboration that matches the challenge. Clear national direction gives public and private partners confidence, enables continuity of purpose across political cycles, and keeps programmes focused on outcomes rather than outputs.
Set up for success
Successful new towns must be guided by a shared long-term, vision-led narrative plan that puts placemaking at its core. It should form the foundation for all decisions, rooting strategy in inclusive community outcomes and translating ambition into investable, deliverable infrastructure and regeneration programmes.
This means designing neighbourhoods that foster belonging and wellbeing: walkable streets, strong connections to nature, vibrant public spaces, and everyday services within easy reach.
Quality of life should form an integral catalyst and strategic driver of long-term economic success. Places that prioritise it attract investment, nurture healthier communities and remain resilient through change.
However, none of this can be delivered effectively without an infrastructure first approach. Housing, transport, workplaces, social infrastructure, schools, community and healthcare facilities, retail, utilities, digital technologies, green networks and employment opportunities must be planned together from the earliest stage.
To help guide this, robust governance is essential. The physical act of building is only the beginning as without a clear plan for the governance, funding and maintenance of community assets, even the best developments can falter.
Collaboration is key
Delivering programmes of this scale and complexity depends on early and sustained collaboration between a wide network of stakeholders, both public and private, working towards a shared vision from inception through the full lifecycle. This includes development corporations, master developers, joint ventures and evolving delivery vehicles.
The earlier delivery partnerships are established, the greater the benefits: clarity of roles, increased productivity, reduced risk and, ultimately, better outcomes. Investment increasingly requires early engagement across multiple parties, and there is a clear role for the sector in helping to de risk, incentivise and deliver.
Long term stewardship ensures that places evolve as communities grow, that public spaces remain cared for, and that the identity and purpose of a town strengthen over time. It is about creating a lasting legacy – places where children born today will choose to stay, invest and build their futures.
Role of the integrator
Coordinating these interconnected systems requires the capability of a trusted integrator that can sequence delivery, align partners, build the case for investment, reduce risk and secure community confidence. Experience from major national and international infrastructure programmes shows that integrated delivery models achieve pace, certainty and value in ways that siloed approaches cannot.
The potential for a new generation of new towns and communities is within reach. But realising it will require government and the sector to work differently: adopting purpose and vision led integrator models rooted in place, enabling cross sector and cross departmental collaboration, and unified by a shared commitment to positive, long term legacy.
Governance must drive accountability and bring partners together around clear principles for investment and delivery to provide certainty over returns. This clarity is essential in unlocking outcomes at scale and enabling new towns to play a meaningful role in addressing the UK’s housing challenge.
With bold leadership and genuinely collaborative systems, tomorrow’s new towns can become thriving, sustainable and resilient places built not just to be delivered, but to flourish for generations to come.
This article first appeared in BE News, March 2026
