New Towns – Government proposals

The New Towns Taskforce was an independent expert advisory panel appointed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in September 2024 to support the government in delivering the next generation of new towns.

On 28 September 20025 the Government published the Taskforce’s report to government, which includes recommendations on the potential locations and delivery of new towns.

One of the locations identified is Adlington, near Macclesfield.

On submission of the report the work of the Taskforce ended. The government published an initial response to the report and outlined the next steps.

The process for identifying New Towns

The process for identifying new towns has been led by the New Towns Taskforce at the request of central government and chaired by Sir Michael Lyons.

The Taskforce held an open call for developers and landowners to submit sites for consideration by them. Cheshire East Council did not submit any sites and did not work with any developer or landowner on the submission of their sites to the taskforce.  

Recommendations by the Taskforce to Government, including the proposed locations, have been prepared independently and were not put forward by Cheshire East Council.

Cheshire East Council’s involvement with the proposals to date has been limited – with officers responding to questions from the New Towns Taskforce.  

We will consider next steps and an appropriate response to these proposals through our committee processes.

Next steps for Government

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Homes England are now gathering further information to evaluate the proposals put forward by the Taskforce.

We have been advised by the Government that:

• Government has commissioned specialist consultants to carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).
• Homes England has commissioned consultants to evaluate all 12 New Towns proposals, assessing impacts and benefits to inform potential business planning.
• This work is expected to be completed by end of January 2026.
• It is then expected that the government will publish draft proposals and the final SEA for inclusion in a public consultation in spring. This will allow the council, elected members, town and parish councils, businesses, and residents to submit views.
• Details of how the consultation will operate have not yet been confirmed.
• Following the consultation, results will be reported to the Minister for consideration.
• A decision on the proposals by Government is expected in May / June 2026.

More updates will be shared on this webpage as soon as more information becomes available.