Creating successful and vibrant new places requires the provision of high-quality homes alongside essential amenities and infrastructure. Too often, recent attempts have focused on the former while neglecting the latter.

Drawing from our experience working across multiple new settlement masterplans, we set out an overview of the common pitfalls associated with centres in new settlements before exploring alternative ways of supporting a vibrant mix of uses.

Successful strategies for the provision of local amenities must be rooted in a deep understanding of local culture and economy. This requires a strategic vision for the future role of any new development and its relationship to existing settlements, their history, demography, and the needs of existing communities.

We propose a value-led commercial approach to phasing, ensuring that initial phases of housing are balanced with the proportionate delivery of amenities., allowing new towns to emulate the organic evolution of successful places. Flexibility is paramount to generating resilience across the entire build cycle of complex projects, particularly in times of economic uncertainty.

Many organisations that deliver new homes excel in housing products but often lack experience in creating vibrant, mixed-use communities. Our broad experience enables us to support our clients and collaborators in piecing together cohesive spatial strategies for proposed new settlements, focused on vibrancy and value.