Delivering new towns that truly enhance our health and wellbeing

By Emma Cooke, head of external affairs, Quality of Life Foundation

The publication of the New Towns Taskforce’s interim report is a welcome step forward in shaping the future of new towns. It rightly highlights the essential foundations of successful communities: meaningful engagement, healthy and safe environments, robust social infrastructure, and long-term stewardship.

These principles are vital in creating places where people can truly thrive. But principles alone are not enough. We need clear, practical mechanisms to turn ambition into action.

Why health and wellbeing must lead the way

What makes a place great to live? It’s more than just bricks and mortar. It’s the green spaces that encourage people outdoors, the walkable streets that foster connection, and the opportunities for communities to shape their own futures. These features don’t just improve daily life; they help tackle deep-rooted health inequalities and create stronger, more resilient neighbourhoods.

Yet, despite overwhelming evidence, health and wellbeing remain secondary considerations in too many developments. Financial pressures and housing targets often take precedence, treating health-focused design as a luxury rather than a necessity.

This has to change.

New towns offer a rare opportunity to set a new standard – one that puts people’s health and wellbeing at the heart of planning and development from day one.

Turning principles into measurable action

Health and wellbeing can’t just be aspirations in a planning document; they must be embedded as tangible, measurable priorities.

The forthcoming New Towns Code is a chance to do exactly that, by making health outcomes key performance indicators for all new developments.

We already know what works: green spaces, walkable neighbourhoods, clean air, opportunities for social interaction, and places where people feel safe and in control. But these outcomes won’t happen by accident. 

By setting clear, enforceable targets, the New Towns Taskforce can ensure every new community is designed and delivered with long-term health and wellbeing in mind.

Stewardship: making good places last

Even the best-designed communities can fail if they are not cared for. Too often, we see once-thriving place fall into neglect because long-term stewardship wasn’t properly planned or funded.

This is why it’s encouraging to see stewardship highlighted in the Taskforce’s interim report. But stewardship must go beyond infrastructure maintenance. It should ensure that residents have an ongoing voice in shaping their neighbourhoods and that the social fabric of a place remains strong over time.

Strong stewardship builds trust, fosters belonging, and safeguards the very factors that make a place liveable. The new towns programme must make stewardship a non-negotiable requirement, backed by clear expectations for long-term funding and governance structures.

Measuring success: learning from lived experience

A crucial missing piece in the Taskforce’s report is how we will measure success. Without assessing the impact of new developments once people move in, we risk repeating past mistakes.

Post-occupancy evaluations are essential. They should not be seen as a tick-box exercise but as a fundamental tool for continuous learning and improvement. 

These evaluations should be embedded from the outset, with assessments carried out at key milestones – one year, five years, and ten years after people move in. This would create a feedback loop, ensuring insights from one development inform the next.

The Quality of Life Framework: a practical way forward

At the Quality of Life Foundation, we have developed a proven approach to embedding health and wellbeing in development. The Quality of Life Framework provides a clear methodology for setting objectives, measuring progress, and ensuring long-term impact.

This approach is already being used in projects like Harlow and Gilston Garden Town, where it helps track and adapt wellbeing outcomes over time. By integrating such a framework into the New Towns Code, the Taskforce can establish a consistent, evidence-based standard for development – one that ensures every new town delivers genuine benefits for its residents.

A call to action

The government must seize this opportunity to embed health and wellbeing into the DNA of new towns. This means:

  • Making health and wellbeing measurable through enforceable KPIs in the New Towns Code
  • Requiring long-term stewardship plans that give residents a say in their communities
  • Embedding post-occupancy evaluations to track progress and continuously improve.

This isn’t just about meeting targets. It’s about creating places that will stand the test of time, where people can live healthier, happier lives for generations to come.