Booming new towns
New towns always pose the problem that if they have not grown organically, where is the supporting structure of relationships, the interlocking chain of suppliers, and the businesses supporting each other?
A possible solution for the new towns proposed for England is to give them the status of Special Enterprise Zones in which the Town and Country Planning Acts don’t apply, and where they can set their own levels of Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
With planning laws suspended, development could proceed at speed. Housing, offices, and industrial sites could be built without lengthy approval processes.
Investors and developers would be drawn to the predictability and speed of delivery, making the towns highly attractive compared to elsewhere in England. Setting low (or even zero) corporation tax would draw domestic and international firms.
Startups and scale-ups would cluster there, benefiting from a lighter fiscal burden and reinvesting savings into innovation and expansion. Professional services, logistics, and advanced manufacturing would all have reasons to base themselves in these towns.
They would become investment hotspots. Reduced capital gains tax would encourage flows of private capital into property, infrastructure, and venture finance. Real estate would become an attractive asset class, spurring further construction. Angel investors and venture funds might base themselves in the zones to take advantage of favorable exit terms.
They would be globally competitive because the towns could position themselves as ‘mini-Singapores’ inside England - hubs for finance, technology, and trade. Their tax and regulatory advantages would make them attractive to overseas investors who might otherwise bypass the UK.
There would be agglomeration effects. As firms clustered, support industries (suppliers, services, consultants) would move in, reinforcing the growth cycle. Skilled workers would be drawn to the concentration of opportunities, creating a talent-rich ecosystem.
They would secure rapid infrastructure and connectivity. With streamlined planning, infrastructure like roads, rail links, fibre broadband, and energy systems could be delivered quickly. This would reinforce their attractiveness as modern, connected, and well-serviced urban centres.
They would have innovation and lifestyle appeal, because, freed from traditional planning constraints, towns could experiment with bold urban design, smart-city technologies, and green infrastructure. Combined with job opportunities and affordable housing (owing to rapid supply), they could become magnets for young professionals and families.
By combining tax advantages, planning freedom, and global positioning, these new towns could become boom areas where capital, talent, and enterprise would concentrate, driving fast, self-reinforcing cycles of growth. They could be used to break Britain’s cycle of low growth and lack of investment and opportunity.
Madsen Pirie