Lyons and Barker to lead government’s new towns taskforce

Housing secretary Angela Rayner has since said that a “gold standard” of 40 per cent affordable housing will be the target on the new towns.

Sir Michael is the long-serving chair of the English Cities Fund – a development firm involving Homes England, Legal & General and Muse – and author of landmark 2014 report the Lyons Housing Review.

He is also a former chair of the BBC Trust, one-time chief executive of Birmingham City Council and spent a brief spell as chair of Sage Partnerships, the sister organisation of for-profit Sage Housing.

On the new taskforce, Sir Michael said: “Our mission begins today and we will work closely with local leaders and their communities as well as the wider development and investment sectors to make sure these new towns are built in the right places.”

Dame Kate, the author of two major reviews of housing policy in the noughties, said: “I am enthusiastic about working with Sir Michael on proposals for the new towns badly needed to enable more households to live in homes where they can flourish.

“It will be vital to ensure the locations will also support economic growth over coming decades.”

Dame Kate is also chair of a housing commission established by thinktank Radix, which last week published a series of proposals for the new government to tackle the housing “permacrisis”.