Garden cities set to bloom? Governments have promised but failed to tackle the housing crisis… so could an old solution be the answer…
Britain’s housing shortage has been a hot potato for years. But can more homes be built without ruining towns and villages?
Veteran Tory MP David Davis says we can — if we go back to the future with Garden Towns.
An architectural movement in the late 19th century created settlements such Hampstead Garden City in North London plus Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City just north of the capital.
They, and almost 30 other Garden Cities and New Towns built in the decades afterwards, were medium-sized and offered homes, jobs and guaranteed green spaces.
Sought after: Hampstead Garden Suburb in North London (pictured) is one of several cities to spring up in the late 19th century
Many, especially the earliest ones, aimed to have a relatively small area of development ringed by green spaces which could not be built on.
Houses were often in the Arts & Craft style, of generous proportions with large chimneys, low eaves — and big gardens.
These homes fell out of favour with town planners in the 1980s but Davis says: ‘Building entirely new settlements — especially smaller ones of around 3,000 homes each — will not meet the same opposition as adding more homes to existing towns.
‘Building new settlements allows us to design in a way that minimises so-called NIMBY opposition.’
Since the mid-2010s the Government has made three attempts to kick-start this kind of movement.
But have our longest-established garden communities worked and could the idea be our saviour?
Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire
Many of the older houses here have substantial gardens of up to a quarter of an acre.
The airy feel of Letchworth is thanks to plenty of mature trees and green open spaces, culminating in Norton Common just north of the centre.
‘This combination of thoughtful layout, good design and quality of construction explains the continuing appeal of Garden City living.
And it’s only a 29-minute train ride from King’s Cross,’ says Jonathan Charter of local estate agency Charter Whyman.
Zoopla says the average sold price for a property in Letchworth Garden City in the past 12 months is £460,008, with detached homes typically costing over £780,000.
Hampstead Garden Suburb, London
If you want celebrity endorsement for the Garden City idea, look no further: Harry Styles, Jonathan Ross and Hugh Laurie are residents of this enclave of about 5,000 homes, with garden squares and communal gardens, close to the Hampstead Heath Extension.
But there’s a price to pay: some parts have controls over paint colours, extensions and garden standards to ensure uniformity and to keep up appearances.
‘It can be very difficult for homeowners today to accept what they have to do to comply with the rules but there is no doubt that if strict rules are enforced, this helps maintain the appearance of the area and property values,’ says London estate agent Jeremy Leaf.
Zoopla says the average sold price in the suburb in the past 12 months is £2,053,000, with some homes on exclusive Bishops Avenue fetching £25 million or more.
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
This 1960s new town was a child of the Garden City movement but much larger with over 250,000 residents.
Its famous matrix structure — dotted with roundabouts, boulevards and green spaces — found critics and fans in equal number.
Recent developments on the outskirts have abandoned the grid system of roads and involve dense apartment blocks.
Its location close to both the Midlands, London and several airports has made it a centre for distribution firms and enterprises like the Red Bull Formula 1 team.
A growing number of apartments means the average price of homes sold in the past year has dropped to £350,532, according to Zoopla.
Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire
Founded by Ebenezer Howard — he created Letchworth, too —this was called The Perfect Town when it was launched in the 1920s.
It’s famed for wide grass areas near roads, an attractive green ‘parkway’ in the centre, and a large red brick shop built in 1939 as the Welwyn Department Store — now run by John Lewis.
Its proximity to London (roughly 40 minutes by train) and nearby film and TV studios mean the town, known as WGC to locals, has more than a little stardust.
The average home sold for £467,008 over the past 12 months and detached houses in the Tewin Water and West Side areas typically fetch £1 million or more.
Stevenage, Hertfordshire
In 1946 Stevenage (then a small farming community of 6,000 people) was chosen as England’s first New Town — a spin-off of the Garden City concept — with the goal of 60,000 residents.
By this time mass construction had begun and, unlike earlier communities, housing quality was mixed and there was an emphasis on higher-density homes with access to public green space, rather than private gardens.
In the past 12 months the average sale price has been £363,027.
On the market… with plenty of green spaces
Letchworth: This 1904 semi, one of the first built in the Garden City, is designated ‘of special interest’ by the Heritage Foundation. It has three reception rooms, four bedrooms and a large garden. Charter Whyman.co.uk, 01462 685808. £840,000
Hampstead Garden Suburb: This 3,000 sq ft house has two gardens of 130ft and 150ft, two garages, a cellar, loft, and overlooks the open space of the Hampstead Heath Extension. Hamptons.co.uk, 020 3369 4377. £4million
Milton Keynes: Gardens of a quarter of an acre surround this four-bedroom bungalow which has been significantly updated over the past decade. There’s a two-car garage as well. Jackson-stops.co.uk, 01525 302098. £895,000
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