From the archive: New Towns Assets
Posted on 29th Jan 2026 by Jeanette Aves
and Lachlan Anderson-Frank
The November 1980 issue of Town and Country Planning offers some reflections on the management of the New Towns, during a time when the role of development corporations was being increasingly questioned. While today’s blog considers New Towns Assets, we also recommend looking at other articles in this issue for a broader context. New Towns Assets was written by A. L. Strachan, who was a Chief Estates Officer in the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.
The definition of the word asset is interesting in the context of new developments, as it acknowledges the inherent value of the subject: whether it’s a commercial unit, a local landmark, or a park. This presents an interesting starting point for a debate as to whether to remove something from public ownership. And it’s worth questioning how much of that value is simply monetary.
In this article, Strachan considers the assets of commercial and industrial sites in New Towns. He begins by acknowledging the unique capacity that New Town development corporations had to recoup the land value uplift of these sites, which resulted from their wider investment into the town and its expansion. As a result, this uplift directly correlated to the building-out of wider schemes, and selling these assets prior to the New Town maturing would lead to a loss of revenue. Strachan notes that when these assets were sold, the inclusion of future appreciation was substantially discounted. This was due to limited private market speculative investment during the early stages of the New Towns.
‘If, therefore, assets are sold during the process of development, corporations would divest themselves of the opportunity to benefit from the future growth which they are themselves creating.’
The repercussions
Prematurely selling these assets also undermined the development of the town centres. Strachan notes two key reasons for this. First, the functions of the town centre units could be prescribed by the development corporation for the wider benefit of the town. Otherwise, units could be altered or sold on in a manner which could negatively impact other businesses. Secondly, designing for a growing population 30 years ahead meant that changes to the form of the town centre would inevitably be required over time. Retaining ownership both allows for this, such as broadening walkways, and provides revenue for it.
‘The new town movement was one of the best examples of positive planning within a system which has been criticised as too negative.’
The criteria
Long leaseholds on sites still owned by development corporations sometimes led to a loss of of income compared to rising market values and inflation. But aside from this, Strachan makes the case that economic and industrial assets should usually be retained. While he notes that they could be sold if they are not making a satisfactory return, such as in peripheral locations, he also points out that the future growth of these sites was often not yet realised when they were sold. And emphasises that prime centre locations should be retained. He concludes the article by calling for New Towns to be recognised as a ‘national asset’, capable of generating funds for wider benefit.
‘My plea, whatever the decision, is that those assets, so painstakingly built up over many years, will not be dissipated, but dealt with in accordance with the best principles of sound estate management.’
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Public assets in New Towns following the 1980s
New Towns Assets highlighted the benefits of retaining income-generating town centre commercial sites for public good. The TCPA has written about how the fire-sale of buildings and property from the post-war New Towns in the 1980s damaged the financial performance of the programme.1 Recent press coverage has also highlighted the stewardship challenges and poor outcomes this has resulted in in the longer term. Indeed, since its founding, the TCPA has advocated strongly for the community ownership of land and long-term stewardship of assets as one of the core Garden City Principles.
New towns must be places that provide jobs for residents and enable businesses to grow – and this is one of the key recommendations of the New Towns Taskforce. More than this, New Towns should support mixed-use town centres with a range of employment, commercial and retail space. In our modern world of hyper-siloed asset ownership, and declining retail stock, this presents a clear challenge.
But critically, there is a need to transfer these assets to community and charitable organisations that will manage them for the benefit of the citizens over the long-term. The TCPA argues that this should include the ultimate vesting of a significant part of the commercial estate of the town to a charitable trust or equivalent that would operate in the interest of the community’s development and renewal.2
Private estate management consultations
In the last decade, a proliferation of private management companies in new developments has also reduced the autonomy of new homeowners and renters to influence their local areas. This has led to an increase in unfair and opaque maintenance fees, often costing residents hundreds of pounds a year. Reforms on this are being consulted on (deadline 12 March 2026):
Enhanced protections for homeowners on freehold estates - GOV.UK,
Reducing the prevalence of private estate management arrangements - GOV.UK
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1 https://www.tcpa.org.uk/paying-for-a-new-generation-of-new-towns-reflections-from-the-past/
2 https://www.tcpa.org.uk/resources/our-shared-future-a-tcpa-white-paper-for-homes-and-communities/