Marlcombe, East Devon selected as one of the New Towns

New towns present a huge opportunity to deliver more sustainable, resilient and healthier places. Drawing on our experience at Northstowe Town and Otterpool Park, we keep learning and develop locally specific principles for successful placemaking at this scale.

"New towns need a strong but flexible framework – one that can guide development over time without becoming prescriptive or rigid,” Katja Stille, Director, said. “The aim is to shape places at the right scale, particularly the neighbourhood level, so that people can live locally, access amenities easily, and feel a strong sense of place.

"We must be ambitious from the outset and bake climate resilience and net zero ambitions into masterplans. Spatial structures that encourage walking, cycling and public transport over car use should be established, ensuring that neighbourhoods are compact and connected.

"Then design codes should translate the vision of the masterplan into clear, site-specific parameters that guide the quality, character, and sustainability of new places.”