New towns such as that proposed in Adlington will not succeed without strong leadership and adequate funding, a House of Lords committee has said.

The cross-party Built Environment Committee has today (October 25) published its 'New Towns: Laying the Foundations' report.

It states that existing leadership structures are not suitable and that a dedicated, cabinet-level figurehead at the heart of Government will be required for such a project to succeed.

Furthermore, the committee has called for the creation of a new agency to run and oversee the delivery programme.

 Lord Gascoigne, chair of the Built Environment Committee, said: "The Government's new towns programme is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build genuinely affordable, high-quality homes and to create communities where people want to live.

"Public support is fundamental to the success of the programme. The Government needs to work hard, day in and day out, to articulate a clear and ambitious vision for its programme. A key element of this must be to inspire developers and planning authorities to use the new towns as a model for future development.

"But a vision alone will not be enough to get these new towns built: the Government needs to show that it has the grip necessary to drive the programme forward and make it happen.

"Now that the New Towns Taskforce has published its shortlist of locations for 12 new towns the Government needs to set out, in explicit terms, how it is planning to fund and deliver them."

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The report calls for a new cabinet-level figurehead at the heart of Government (Credit: Nub News)

Funding is another key issue noted in the report, with 'alternative funding models' required.

 'One clear route' to securing this kind of funding from private sectors is by delivering infrastructure – such as public transport links, schools and hospitals – before breaking ground on new housing.

Other conclusions from the report include the need to establish clear legal framework for patient investment by the private and public sectors, which will be the 'primary source of finance' for the programme.

Additionally, it is felt that the government should retail a 'small but effective' ownership stake in each development corporation.

The Government should also set 'high-level' design standards for the entire programme, to be overseen by a centralised planning agency for new and expanded towns.