How often are we given a blank canvas to create a whole new town where the things we need: homes, schools, workplaces and more, are all within easy reach?
Photo: Waterbeach - the innovative 'cycling-first' community. Alec Seaman, 2025.
The government has proposed seven locations across England to build new towns, with three priority projects in Central Bedfordshire, Enfield, and Leeds, each delivering more than 20,000 new homes.
As part of this, a consultation has been held on a draft planning policy for these new settlements, which includes ten placemaking principles.
To help make active travel fundamental to the design of new towns, we responded to the consultation. This is an opportunity to avoid repeating past mistakes, where limited travel choices have led to car dependency.
Why should new towns be better connected?
A new town planned so people can do nearly all of their local journeys by walking, wheeling, cycling or public transport would mean:
- A quieter, cleaner community with less air pollution
- Residents would find it easy to get their steps in every day resulting in better health
- Children could play outside safely and enjoy freedom from a young age
- More face-to-face interaction between neighbours
- Low-cost access to jobs, education and services
- A greener, leafier place where people want to live
And importantly:
7. Less traffic on roads in surrounding communities – a real concern when we’re talking about 20,000 new homes in areas that can already be congested.
Photo: Dan Wilson Photography, 2025.
Examples of success
There are many powerful examples of what can be achieved if new towns are planned so that people can get around easily using different transport options.
The town of Houten in the Netherlands was built to prioritise active travel; today, 44% of all local trips are made by bicycle and 21% of trips are walked – despite Dutch weather being similar to that of England.
Our team recently visited the new Waterbeach community near Cambridge to see an example in the UK where active travel has been built in from the start.
The scheme includes high-quality cycle paths, active travel connections to employment areas, and a new school where children can walk, wheel, or cycle their journeys.
Photo: A Waterbeach cycle path separated from the road by a wildflower meadow. Alec Seaman, 2025.
How could a new town be built with active travel in mind?
With so many benefits, it’s clear that every new town should be optimised for walking, wheeling, and cycling. So we suggested some measures in our consultation response. These include:
- Build at least 58 dwellings per hectare, so that shops, services and schools can be within walking distance of new homes.
- Create streets that are safe and enjoyable to stroll and cycle along for example with benches and greenery, rather than only prioritising space for motor vehicles.
- Build protected cycle paths on all main roads and through-routes to give people safe options for getting around.
- Ensure there is secure cycle parking for all properties of all types and tenures.
- Include ambitious and future-proofed cycle parking at rail and metro stations which serve the developments.
- Provide opportunities for new residents to gain the skills and knowledge to walk, wheel and cycle more. For example engagement projects in schools, workplaces and communities from the moment people move into their new homes.
We’re calling on the government to be really specific about how these new towns will make it easier for people to walk, wheel, and cycle.
This needs a section in the placemaking principles alongside a concrete, measurable target for what proportion of journeys are made by different forms of transport.
Photo: Chris Foster Photography, 2025.
How we can help
The National Cycle Network runs near all of these priority new town sites.
Leeds South Bank sits just where Route 67 meets Route 672. Crews Hill in Enfield is on Route 12 between the Lea Valley and Potters Bar. And Tempsford in Bedfordshire is on Route 12, within cycle commuting distance of Bedford, St Neots and Sandy.
So even for journeys made outside of the new towns to other nearby places, active travel can be made a real option.
These new towns are a once-in-a-generation opportunity with communities built around the people who live in them. These seven sites are seven chances to get it right. Let's not waste them.
Experts in urban design and planning
Our team of expert designers are passionate about championing ambitious ideas that put people at the heart of the designs.
We've worked on high level master plans to detailed designs and construction, from imaginative pocket parks and school streets, to citywide strategies and dedicated active travel infrastructure.
