Major win for local communities as new towns will be included in housing targets

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP

MONDAY 23rd MARCH 2026

Alistair Strathern, the MP for Hitchin, has celebrated securing a major win for local communities, after the Government confirmed it would change approach and enable housing delivered as part of its new town programme to count towards housing targets. 

The change follows sustained calls for a fairer and more strategic approach to development by Strathern. With Tempsford in Central Bedfordshire one of the sites proposed by the Government for inclusion in its New Towns programme, under earlier Government indications, homes built within new towns would not have contributed to housing targets, leaving neighbouring communities exposed to further speculative development.

Strathern had written to the Housing Minister and repeatedly pressed for a change in approach. After months of Strathern’s representations, the updated approach will mean that if the Tempsford development in Bedfordshire proceeds, it will count towards the area’s overall housing numbers. This will mean over time the need for further development in other towns and villages across Central Bedfordshire will be lower.

The news came as part of the Government's confirmation that it would be proposing a new town at Tempsford as one of 7 priority sites in its new towns programme. This would see up to 40,000 homes delivered in Tempsford around the site of the new East West Rail train station. 

The focus for Strathern now is on ensuring that as Tempsford moves forward, it does so in a way that strengthens local infrastructure available to the wider area.

Alistair Strathern said:

"We've seen plenty of development done badly across Central Bedfordshire.

“New towns offer the chance to do better, and build housing alongside new GP surgeries, roads, transport and schools. I am really pleased to see us committed to building a new generation of new towns, including Tempsford.

"New towns offer a far better way to deliver new homes than poorly planned village sprawl, but to do justice to this, we need to ensure they reduce development pressure on their surrounding area. 

“That is why I am delighted the Government has listened to my campaign and said that new housing will be included in local agreed housing targets. This means in the years to come, we’ll see less development pressure on existing communities locally.

“I will be working with Government to make sure Tempsford and our other new towns deliver the kind of new-infrastructure, joined-up, smartly-planned communities we want from new housing.”

Notes for Editors

You can see attached Strathern’s letter sent earlier this year to the Housing Minister requesting the housing change.