Micheldever new town not one of 12 sites recommended by New Towns Task Force

The Dever Society has welcomed the rejection of Micheldever new town as one of the 12 recommended locations for substantial new towns published today by the government’s New Towns Task Force.

Micheldever new town was submitted by its proposers for consideration by the Task Force last November, and was one of over 100 locations put forward by developers and local councils. The submissions have not been made public, but were assessed by the Task Force against a set of selection criteria. The results of these assessments have also not been published. In the past, Micheldever new town has been rejected on transport and environmental grounds.

Water scarcity - a possible reason?

The Dever Society has always been concerned about the impact of a large new town at Micheldever because of its location within the catchment of the River Test, an internationally important chalk stream. The lack of water supply in this area is also a worry, and it is interesting that the Task Force’s report states that among the over 100 submitted sites were a number of '“high-potential sites which could deliver tens of thousands of homes, but unfortunately water scarcity meant that these were not viable to take forward and would not have been able to deliver quickly enough due to uncertainties.” It is entirely possible that Micheldever new town was one of these sites, and if so, we welcome the Task Force’s recognition that this is a crucial factor in identifying suitable sites for housing development.

A temporary reprieve?

While we are relieved that Micheldever is not one of the 12 recommended locations, this may only be a temporary reprieve, as the government’s initial response to the Task Force’s report states the following:

“We are today (28 September 2025) commencing a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to understand the environmental implications of new towns development. This will support final decisions on precisely which locations we take forward. No final decisions on locations will be made until that SEA concludes and preferred locations could change as a result of the process.” [our emphasis.]

The government plans to publish its draft proposals and final SEA for consultation early next year, and will confirm the locations it is taking forward later in the spring.

You can read the Task Force's report and the government's initial response by clicking here.

The fight goes on…

Even if Micheldever new town does not ultimately become one of the government’s new towns, its proposers, the landowner - billionaire Irish racehorse breeder John Magnier - and his developer, O’Flynn Group, have made it clear to the Dever Society that they have no intention of giving up.

We have no doubt that they will continue to promote the new town to central government, and locally through the local plan process.

With 4,250 houses on Popham Airfield now being supported by Basingstoke Council and John Magnier’s new proposal for a huge employment park on farmland he owns opposite Popham Airfield to the south of the A303, not to mention the potential impacts of Local Government Reorganisation in Hampshire, a new town at Micheldever could become part of major development in this area.