The government says plans for the country’s largest post-war housebuilding programme are moving at pace, as the final members of its New Towns Taskforce have been appointed.

Eight industry experts now have a seat at the table of the taskforce, alongside Chair Sir Michael Lyons and Deputy Chair Dame Kate Barker, including key players across planning, infrastructure delivery, architecture and urban regeneration.

The group will now push ahead with the governments vision for new towns – creating largescale communities that could deliver hundreds of thousands of high-quality homes to tackle the national housing crisis and drive economic growth across the country.

The taskforce met for the first time today in Milton Keynes, confirming the responsibilities for each member, laying the groundwork to identify appropriate locations and learning the lessons from previous efforts to build new towns.

They were joined by the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and the housing minister who spoke remotely with members during the day.

Rayner said: “Today marks a momentous step in our journey to deliver the next generation of new towns and transform the lives of millions of working people in every part of the country.

“We want to see new communities with real character –providing genuinely affordable, safe and secure homes, much-needed infrastructure and well-paying jobs.

“With a strong team of experts standing by his side, I have every confidence in Sir Michael’s leadership and his Taskforce is working at pace to make sure our long-term ambition becomes a reality.”

The taskforce’s mission is already underway, with members leading a series of workstreams, and set to report back in 12 months. Its areas of work will include:

• Identifying and reviewing high potential locations for new towns
• Agreeing principles and standards that must be met to provide good quality places
• Exploring new ways to attract future funding and investment
• Finding practical solutions to remove barriers that will unlock the delivery of new towns.

This work will form the publication of the final report due to land on ministers’ desks next year, with plans to engage with mayors, local leaders and communities in the coming months.

The Housing and Planning Minister, Matthew Pennycook, said: “I am really pleased that the New Towns Taskforce has held its first meeting today.

“It brings together a wealth of experience from across the industry, and I look forward to engaging with it over the months ahead as it works to identify the most suitable locations across the country for large-scale new communities.”

A new towns code will be created that developers will have to follow to ensure new towns are great places to live and will include the golden rule of 40% affordable housing.

The chair of the New Towns Taskforce, Sir Michael Lyons, said: “I am very pleased to chair the first meeting of the Taskforce today. We have an important agenda to work through over the next 12 months to ensure that the next generation of new towns deliver the government’s plans for economic growth and housing ambitions.

“I look forward to working with our very experienced Taskforce members to provide the government with robust recommendations within a year.”

The government says it is taking immediate action to ramp up housing supply and boost economic growth by reintroducing mandatory housing targets for councils through an updated National Planning Policy Framework to help deliver 1.5 million homes over the next five years.

Large housing sites facing blockages in the development system will also be fast-tracked through the New Homes Accelerator programme, which will see planning experts deployed on the ground to support local councils and housebuilders to get Britain building again.