Garden towns likely to be dominated by car use

New research from Transport for New Homes has revealed that garden villages and garden towns are at high risk of becoming car-dependent commuter estates.

Transport for New Homes examined plans for 20 garden communities and found that they will create up to 200,000 car-dependent households, generating high levels of traffic on surrounding roads including motorways. All 20 of the garden communities examined in detail will encourage car dependent lifestyles with the car the primary mode of transport at every single one.

The coronavirus outbreak has placed new emphasis on walking and cycling, with wider pavements and new cycle lanes springing up in cities. However, despite being depicted as vibrant, green communities, the research found that garden villages will be largely unsuitable for walking and cycling due to their remote location, their layout and their lack of safe routes in and out of the estate. Local facilities may well never materialise in these car-based developments: non-driving residents will be forced to walk up to seven miles to buy a pint of milk.

Furthermore, analysing new or improved public transport, the group found that plans for garden villages and garden towns promise major increases in road capacity to cater for a massive expected rise in car use. None of the 20 settlements will provide bus services to all households all day, all week, whilst cycle routes from garden villages into nearby towns will often be long and dangerous.

Jenny Raggett, Project Coordinator at Transport for New Homes, said: “It looks like garden communities are to become car-based commuter estates just like any other – exactly what the government wanted to avoid. Rather than seeing the emphasis on public transport that the Garden Communities Prospectus promised, with new stations funded at the heart of the development, or firm investment in modern bus rapid transit, light rail or trams, nearly every garden community comes with a long list of road improvements such as bypasses, link roads and new motorway junctions. Although the theme of the ‘local’ and ‘self-sufficient’ is the official line, the language adopted in the promotion of garden villages makes great play of their strategic location for long-distance commuting. It is doubtful, given this emphasis, that local shops and services will flourish.”