Policy Exchange - 40 new garden cities needed to meet housing demand, say Prize finalists

28 Aug 2014 11:05 AM

As many as 40 new garden cities, each containing between 10,000 and 50,000 homes, should be built over the next 20 years if politicians are serious about solving Britain’s housing crisis, according to finalists for the 2014 Wolfson Economics Prize.

The new figures are revealed in the five final submissions being published today by the Prize secretariat, ahead of the announcement of the overall winner at next Wednesday 3rd September’s gala dinner at the Royal Institute of British Architects. Each finalist is hoping to win the £250,000 prize, the second biggest economics prize in the world after the Nobel Prize. All other finalists will receive a £10,000 prize.

The publication of the final five entries reveals that three of the five finalists independently suggest an ambitious programme of 30-40 new garden cities to meet future housing need. An extensive poll of over 6,000 people earlier in the year carried out by Populus showed widespread support for garden cities among the population, with 74% of those polled agreeing that garden cities are a good idea. Support was also strong among Conservative (80%) and UKIP (73%) voters. 68% of respondents also agreed that garden cities would protect more countryside from development than the alternatives.

The five finalists’ entries are summarised below: 

Founder of the Prize, Lord (Simon) Wolfson of Aspley Guise, said:

"We urgently need to build more houses in Britain. I am delighted that this year’s Wolfson Economics Prize has generated so many powerful and creative proposals for new garden cities. Together these entries present an overwhelming argument in favour of a new approach to solving our housing crisis."

Prize Director Miles Gibson added:

“Our expert finalists have produced a spectacular range of ideas in their final submissions. Their entries spurred us to create a fantastic exhibition about the Prize at The Building Centre. Trevor Osborne and his fellow judges now have the unenviable and difficult task of choosing an overall winner."

Press enquiries about the Prize, including requests for media places at the 3 September dinner, can be directed to John Higginson at Westbourne Communications Ltd, 07920 701 693.

Notes to Editors

1. At £250,000 the Wolfson Economics Prize is the second-biggest cash economics prize in the world, after the Nobel Prize. This year the prize seeks to find the best answer to the following question: “How would you deliver a new Garden City which is visionary, economically viable, and popular?”

2. The 2014 Prize topic was announced on 14 November 2013 and the entry deadline was 3 March 2014. Entrants were asked to provide an essay (‘Primary Submission’) of 10,000 words (plus non-technical summary of 1,000 words) on the Prize Question. Five finalists (and a selection of smaller prize winners) were announced on 4 June 2014 and the finalists were given until 11 August to refine their submissions. The winner will be announced on 3 September 2014 at a gala dinner and awards ceremony.

3. The Wolfson Economics Prize will hold an exhibition about the Prize at The Building Centre, London, supported by The Building Centre Trust, the Royal Town Planning Institute and Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation. The exhibition will run from 4 September to 29 September 2014 and will then be available to other interested organisations in a touring format. The Building Centre is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to advancing innovation in the built environment. Since 1932 it has delivered an internationally recognised programme of events and exhibitions that inspire, inform, educate and campaign across the construction professions, while also raising awareness and delivering information to the general public.

4. The five finalists for the 2014 Prize, and the highlights of their submissions, are:

5. The Prize entry from Dr Susan Parham (University of Hertfordshire) and others has been published today on the Wolfson Prize website, in recognition of its ideas on how to intensively engage local communities on garden city proposals.

6. Other features of the competition's first round (as announced on 4 June 2014) included:

7. Other prizes, known as ‘Light Bulb’ prizes, have been awarded to entrants whose entries address aspects of the Prize Question in particularly innovative, creative or otherwise outstanding ways. The fund for these Prizes is £10,000.

8. The full Rules for the competition, the entrants Information Booklet, and other material related to the Prize, is available at www.wolfsonprize.org.uk. The Prize secretariat tweets from @WEP2014.

9. Details of the polling findings referred to were published in a separate press notice issued on Tuesday 3 June and are available on the Prize website at www.wolfsonprize.org.uk 

10. The Wolfson Prize was founded in 2011 by Lord (Simon) Wolfson of Aspley Guise. There has been one previous competition, on the topic of the Eurozone. The winner of the 2012 Prize was Roger Bootle with Capital Economics. The prize is sponsored by the Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust, a family charity, and managed by Policy Exchange, the independent London-based think tank.

11. Simon Wolfson, the Founder of the Wolfson Economics Prize, has been Chief Executive of Next plc since 2001, a company he joined as a Sales Assistant in 1991. Since his appointment as Chief Executive Next profits have more than doubled with earnings per share compounding at 16% per annum. Simon was created a Tory Peer in 2010. Simon's long standing interest in better housing, the social and economic benefits it can bring to the UK are born of years of experience trading the length and breadth of the UK.

12. Miles Gibson is Director of the Wolfson Economics Prize. He has taken a formal career break from the UK civil service to become the Prize Director for the Wolfson Economics Prize 2014. His civil service career spans more than a decade and includes senior roles in the Department for Communities and Local Government, HM Treasury, and the Cabinet Office. He has worked with and for most of the leading politicians of our generation in roles which have made him a recognised public policy expert in the areas of housing, land use, infrastructure and property taxation. He is a fully qualified town planner and also has a degree in architecture.

13. Trevor Osborne is Chair of the 2014 Wolfson Economics Prize judges and is one of Britain’s leading property developers. Through his current company, The Trevor Osborne Property Group Limited, he has built award-winning mixed-use, commercial, leisure and residential projects, often in historical buildings and often partnering with Councils and other public sector organisations. From 1991-92, Trevor was the President of the British Property Federation. From 1980-1982 he was the Leader of Wokingham District Council.

14. The four other Judges for the 2014 Prize are: