Communities Secretary announces 19 new garden villages

Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP announced the delivery of 19 new garden villages in an address to the Chartered Institute of Housing on 27^th June 2019.

The 19 new villages will be constructed all over the country, from County Durham in the North to Truro in the South West, and will provide 73,554 homes in contribution to Parliament’s pledge of constructing 300,000 homes per year by the mid-2020s.

The Communities Secretary stated: “We welcome the new homes these projects will bring, but this is about so much more than ‘housing units’.

It’s about supporting local areas that have the vision and drive to create great new places – with all the facilities, green space and transport to make a community that will thrive.”

Each of the 19 projects shall receive £150,000 in funding to aid in the planning application and specialist reports necessary for construction to begin, with the combined total in funding from the government reaching £2.85M.

One of the 19 new villages to be constructed shall serve a unique purpose by being specially designed to support people suffering from dementia. St George’s Barracks, part of a new Garden Community in Rutland in the East Midlands, will serve as a dementia-friendly community where residents can live safely in the comfort of their own homes.

The Communities Secretary added: “I know too well the devastating impact dementia can have, from my own personal experience seeing my mum struggle with it. How we need to do so much more to create dementia friendly communities. Having that understanding, having that recognition. Doing all that we can to keep independence for as long as we possibly can.

“It’s vital our new communities are built with these kinds of challenges in mind – ensuring people can live independently and safely for as long as possible.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.