At 10.45am on Tuesday 20 May 2025, the House of Lords Built Environment Committee, continues its inquiry on new towns and expanded settlements, hearing evidence from:
- Kirsten Hewson, Chair, Shoosmiths
- Dr Edward Shepherd, Senior Lecturer, Cardiff University
- Miles Gibson, Independent Consultant.
This session, which is open to the public, will be held in Committee Room 2 of the House of Lords and streamed live on Parliament TV.
This session will focus on the legal and economic factors underpinning the delivery of new towns. It will examine deeply contentious and difficult topics such as land value capture and compulsory purchase orders – issues that could have significant consequences for landowners and the general public in the years ahead if not implemented appropriately. The committee is likely to ask about:
- Whether financial backing from the Treasury is needed for the successful delivery of new towns.
- The extent to which land value capture could be used to finance new towns, and the mechanisms that might best achieve this.
- Whether so-called “hope value” should be excluded from the valuation of land acquired for the construction of new towns.
- How the compulsory purchase regime could be improved to make land assembly easier.
- How communities can retain some of the benefits derived from development to reinvest in their new town in the longer term.
The committee’s call for evidence remains open: due to the level of interest in this inquiry from across society, the deadline for submissions has been extended until 00:01 on Friday 23 May 2025. The committee strongly encourages submissions from all sections of society.
