New Towns: Planning for Culture

This project supported the UK Government’s New Towns programme by advancing the case for culture, creativity and heritage to be embedded as core infrastructure within the masterplanning of new settlements.

Culture Commons worked with officials in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and engaged with the New Towns Taskforce to ensure that cultural infrastructure is considered early, systematically and at scale as the programme develops.

The work drew directly on learning from the Future of Cultural Devolution in the UK programme and reflected sector-wide evidence on the role of culture in sustainable, liveable places.

Context

New Towns present a rare opportunity to shape places for the long term. While housing, transport and utilities are routinely treated as essential infrastructure, cultural and civic assets have often been under-planned or deferred, leading to gaps in provision and weaker community foundations.

At the same time, the Government’s devolution agenda is reshaping how culture and regeneration are governed locally. New Towns will sit within this evolving landscape, making the early integration of cultural infrastructure — and alignment with future governance — critical.

Our role

Culture Commons acted as a policy connector between government and the cultural sector, bringing evidence, principles and practical propositions into New Towns policy discussions.

Activity focused on:

• Engaging MHCLG officials and the New Towns Taskforce on the role of culture as essential infrastructure

• Translating sector insight into clear, policy-ready principles for embedding culture in masterplanning

• Drawing on evidence from the Future of Cultural Devolution in the UK programme, developed with over 30 sector partners

• Articulating the case for minimum expectations for cultural infrastructure, proportionate to scale and population growth

Outcomes

The project contributed to a shift in how culture is framed within the national government’s New Towns policy programme.

Key outcomes include:

• Recognition of culture, sport and leisure as core components of civic infrastructure, alongside education, health and transport

• Alignment between Taskforce principles and long-standing sector calls for early-stage planning of cultural assets

• Stronger emphasis on place identity, participation and long-term stewardship in new settlements

• A clearer link between New Towns policy and wider agendas on cultural devolution and place-based governance