Angela Rayner, the Labour Party's deputy leader, pledged to build a generation of new towns should her party win this year's general election, in a speech at the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum.
Rayner promised to banish identikit homes from new towns, saying a Labour government would insist on local character in developments.
She promised reforms that will see swathes of good quality, affordable houses built with new towns having to meet tougher rules on design quality.
Councils will be able to choose traditional styles built in local materials or more modern designs as long as they are coherent and have character, Rayner added. Garden suburbs like Hale in Manchester and Roundhay in Leeds were cited as inspirations.
Last year Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer promised to build 1.5 million homes in his party's first term.
Rayner offered to work in partnership with “responsible” developers to build hundreds of thousands of homes as she says developments should be 40% affordable, meet key energy efficiency standards and ensure transport links and other essential infrastructure.
On the planning system, Rayner said: “The truth is we have a planning system which has become gummed up.
"I am sure you all know better than most that getting applications over the line can be like swimming through treacle and it’s absolutely right that local people get a say, but a failing system is not in the local or national interest." She promised to reintroduce local housing targets and ensure they are met.
She added: “We’ll give Mayors the tools they need to deliver homes in their areas, revitalising brownfield first, unlocking ugly, disused grey belt land for housebuilding and setting tough new conditions for releasing that land.
Our ‘golden rules’ will ensure any grey belt development delivers affordable homes, new public services, and improved green spaces.”
She also promised to ban no-fault evictions and get rid of leaseholds.
Anthony Aitken, head of planning at Colliers said: “We welcome the commitment from a potential new Labour government to start to address the housing crisis. Bold plans for new towns will be one key component in what is required to provide a comprehensive and multi-faceted plan to deliver the homes that the country so desperately requires. The scale and ambition of new towns with the level of infrastructure required, mean that in practical terms they offer a long term solution to meeting housing need, in a time range of 10 to 25 years, as was evident from the creation of Milton Keynes, East Kilbride and Skelmersdale in the 1960s, each now providing homes, employment and community requirements.
“However, Labour need to continue to be bold to meet the immediate and shorter term housing needs of the country, not just in a first term, but also looking beyond an initial five year term. They should provide a mandatory target for new homes nationally, with each local authority being compelled to meet their housing need, undertake mandatory green belt reviews and the re-introduction of strategic planning. Ultimately, they need to ensure that infrastructure physical and social is provided, and maintained, at a regional level to reflect the scale of development required, especially in south east England.”
Mark Allan, the CEO of Landsec, said: “The measures put forward today by Labour appear to take into account the need for good design, access to nature and decent infrastructure which we know are essential to developing with the consent of local communities.
"However, any new regulation must be done in a way that doesn't create an even more rigid planning framework than we face today.
"It's also important that the introduction of new policy takes account of the realities of developing at scale. Density combined with good, flexible design will be key to unlocking value and delivering the growth, jobs and homes that the country needs.
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, in a statement issued before the speech, said: “The country desperately needs new homes of all tenures, and new towns are one of many tools that we have to deploy simultaneously to tackle the housing crisis. This commitment from Labour to build at scale whilst protecting the important ideals of high quality design and social and environmental sustainability is welcome. They are also right to focus on the importance of ensuring that critical infrastructure is in place – including the warehousing and logistics facilities that support modern life. Whoever wins the next election will have to not just think big but be bold in their actions too – and this is an encouraging sign of that ambition.”
(Updated on 21 May after the speech to add parts of the speech and comment from Landsec and Colliers.)
Julia Lee contributed to this report.