Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP calls for an increase in garden towns in England, as he announces the new garden communities programme.

The programme will see more high quality homes built and green spaces created, expanding on government’s plans for more locally-led developments.

The garden towns push in England is part of government’s clear ambition to build 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.

Councils across England and private developers who have secured support from local authorities will be able to apply for a place on the programme.

The winning bidders will receive tailored advice and potential grant funding for help with staffing or environmental assessments; part of the planning process for new garden towns.

Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said:

This plan is about the government working with councils and developers to get great homes in keeping with beautiful areas in England.

We want to help local authorities build strong and vibrant communities where people want to live, work, and raise families.

Our garden communities programme already has the potential to provide over 200,000 new homes by 2050, and we want to go further.

Strong community involvement and engagement will be at the heart of judging garden community proposals; ensuring developments reflect local character while also designing beautiful green spaces near homes.

Garden communities can take the form of new villages, towns or cities and have the potential to deliver well designed homes at an increased scale, with projects ranging in size from 10,000 to 40,000 homes.

This prospectus is the latest step by government to get Britain building, with 23 locally-led garden communities already receiving funding support, with the potential to deliver over 200,000 homes by 2050.

The launch today signals the start of a 3 month application process, with successful garden community proposals being announced later in the New Year.

Last year 217,000 homes were built, marking the biggest increase in housing supply in England for almost a decade.

A garden town is a development of more than 10,000 homes. Garden villages are smaller settlements of between 1,500 and 10,000 homes.

The government is urging the UK’s geospatial sector and beyond to take part and share views on their future vision, as part of its call for evidence launched today.

The creation of the Geospatial Commission was announced in November 2017, to maximise the value of data linked to location, which could generate £11 billion a year.

By using location data, geospatial technology is transforming services across the private and public sectors to contribute to the #SmarterGov Government campaign, which helps deliver wider economic growth and productivity. From emergency services, transport planning, and 5G networks, to housing, smarter cities and drones – the UK’s geospatial infrastructure has the potential to revolutionise the UK’s economy.

The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, David Lidington, said,

The data revolution is changing the way we see the world and the way we live our lives – and this government is determined to make the most of the opportunities it presents.

The launch of today’s call for evidence is another key milestone in the Geospatial Commission’s exciting journey. We want to hear how the use of geospatial data can support economic growth and productivity across the United Kingdom, while transforming how public services are delivered.

This is crucial in helping to inform the UK’s first ever Geospatial Strategy, which the Government will launch next year.

Call for evidence document

The call for evidence document is linked to below:

Geospatial Commission: call for evidence 2018 (PDF, 1.76MB, 40 pages)

Call for evidence questionnaire

The call for evidence questionnaire is linked to below in various formats:

Geospatial Commission response questionnaire (odt) (ODT, 18.9KB)

Geospatial Commission response questionnaire (docx) (MS Word Document, 30.3KB)

Geospatial Commission response questionnaire (pdf) (PDF, 88.9KB, 9 pages)

Initial analysis

This document sets out the initial high-level analysis which contributed to the Government’s announcement of the creation of a Geospatial Commission in the 2017 Autumn Budget:

Initial Analysis of the Potential Geospatial Economic Opportunity (PDF, 453KB, 18 pages)

Notes to editors

Geospatial Commission

The Geospatial Commission is an impartial expert committee within the Cabinet Office, supported by £40 million of new funding in each of the next two years, and will drive the move to use public and private sector geospatial data more productively. Research estimates that this could contribute up to £11 billion of extra value for the economy every year. The Geospatial Commission is due to publish its first annual plan next Spring.

Further details on the Geospatial Commission can be found in this press release: Chancellor to unlock hidden value of government data

Partner bodies

The Geospatial Commission has 6 partner bodies. These are:

• British Geological Survey
• Coal Authority
• HM Land Registry
• Ordnance Survey
• UK Hydrographic Office
• Valuation Office Agency

Innovate UK has up to £1 million to help organisations put high-quality, human-centred design at the earliest stages of innovation.

This competition will fund projects across a wide range of technologies and markets. It applies to new concepts as well as testing and improving existing ideas.

Why early-stage design matters

Thinking about what customers, users and stakeholders need at an early stage can show organisations where to concentrate their effort and innovation.

Improving the design process can help to spot flaws, uncover new angles and shed light on what customers are actually doing to inform further research and development.

Previous projects to be awarded grants include ‘delivering warmth’, which wants to help people heat their homes and manage how much water they use, and a wearable device for infants to monitor their health and allow for faster, more accurate diagnosis.

What makes a desirable product?

We’re looking for projects that explore what people really need from products and services, and what makes them desirable from a customer’s point of view. It could be about a physical product or the design of digital products or services.

Projects should:

• identify and address the problems that customers care about
• generate ideas for new products, services or business models in line with customer demand
• record their findings to support future development and investment

They must follow an established early-stage design process, such as the Double Diamond model, which divides the design process into 4 phases: discover, define, develop and deliver.

Project teams should also include experienced design professionals, either in-house or as part of a collaboration.

Competition information

• the competition opens on 13 August 2018 and the deadline for applications is midday on 19 September 2018
• UK-based businesses of any size or research and technology organisations can lead a project. Businesses can work alone or in collaboration with partners
• total project costs can be between £10,000 and £40,000
• you could get up to 70% of your project costs
• you can register to attend a briefing event in Manchester on 16 August 2018 to find out more about the competition and how to make a quality application
• successful applicants will be contacted by 26 October 2018
• projects must start by 1 January 2019 and last no more than 3 months