Boylan joins New Towns Taskforce
Manchester’s interim chief executive is one of ten housing and development experts who will create the government’s shortlist of potential locations for the new communities.
Eamonn Boylan joined the New Towns Taskforce for its first meeting at Milton Keynes yesterday. The government advisory group is chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, who is also the non-executive chairman of ECF. Dame Kate Barker, the former non-executive chair of Taylor Wimpey, is the deputy chair of the taskforce.
Creating new towns is part of the government’s strategy to enable the delivery of 1.5m homes in five years. The new towns are meant to hold a minimum of 10,000 homes, of which 40% are to be affordable.
“We want to see new communities with real character –providing genuinely affordable, safe and secure homes, much-needed infrastructure and well-paying jobs,” said Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister.
The taskforce’s list of responsibilities goes beyond just identifying good locations for these communities. They are charged with writing the New Towns Code to guide development in these areas, exploring ways to attract funding and investment for the creation of these towns, and removing any barriers that may hinder the delivery of these communities.
“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,” Lyons said.
“I look forward to working with our very experienced taskforce members to provide the government with robust recommendations within a year.”
In addition to Lyons, Barker, and Boylan, the taskforce members are:
- Bill Hughes, global head of real assets and co-head of private markets at Legal & General
- Dame Diane Coyle, economist and professor of public policy at the University of Cambridge
- Helen Gordon, chief executive of Grainger
- Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation
- Nick Raynsford, president of the Town and Country Planning Association
- Sowmya Parthasarathy, architect and urban designer at Arup
- Wei Yang, town planner, urban designer, and chief executive of the Digital Taskforce for Planning
Boylan brings to the mix a strong public sector background, with more than 40 years working in the public sector. Boylan’s past roles include chief executive for Stockport Council, chief executive at Transport for Greater Manchester, and deputy chief executive of the National Housing Agency (now known as Homes England). He was the inaugural chief executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority up until his retirement in June.
Very good appointment.
By now
Let’s guess where a big chunk of this New Towns money will be going and what the location will be.
By Anonymous
Where are the folk who develop housing projects and those who build the houses?
By Anonymous
So much for retirement. Hopefully he can steer some of these new towns to be built in places people want to live (i.e. cities, and specifically Manchester) rather than out in the sticks.
By Anonymous