Con Keating and Thomas Aubrey are speaking on this tomorrow morning at 10.30 am and you can hear them discussing the document from the link below
Click here to join at 10.30 on September 30th (Tuesday)
The New Towns Taskforce final report was issued yesterday.
Here’s a primer.
It lists the recommended first 12 locations (a surprisingly large number of brown-fill sites) and the three on which work should begin within this parliament.
What’s recommend touching pensions.
There are 44 recommendations – of which 6 are finance related
The report is downloadable and readable here
Very Anglo-centric, as we’re coming to expect from
this Government.
Like the Pride in Place Programme announced last week and claimed as a means to address some of the most pressing local issues within 339 of the UK’s most deprived neighbourhoods.
All of the English locations were already identified, while those for Wales and Scotland are “to follow”.
I’m reminded by my critics that economic development, planning, housing and transport policy are largely devolved for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The check to this balance, however, is through limited borrowing powers eg Scotland can borrow up to an annual limit of £450 million and a cumulative total of £3 billion for capital projects, and up to £600 million per year with a cumulative total of £1.75 billion for resource spending.
Enough to build a bridge (eg the Queensferry Crossing) but not enough to build a new town.
But if I’m seen as focussing my criticism on Westminster government, I’m not. I think the devolved governments should have done (a lot) more, and could still do more with some of the imagination called for on this week’s Pension Playpen discussion.