Prime minister Kier Starmer will announce a first draft of plans for the well-designed, beautiful communities, which will have the potential to deliver 10,000 homes or more, during a visit to Buckinghamshire today.More than 100 proposals were submitted for the new towns from every region in the country.As well as being well-designed, the towns will require affordable housing, GP surgeries, schools and public transport links, according to a government statement.AdvertisementA report in The Guardian says that Norwich, Reading and Stratford-upon-Avon have all been identified as locations that could be extended as part of the new town drive, alongside Taunton, Exeter, Harrogate, Preston, Carlisle and Guildford.Other locations potentially in line for development could include settlements between Derby and Nottingham, between Bedford and Northampton and between Stafford and Stoke.Starmer said yesterday: For so many families, homeownership is a distant dream. After a decade of decline in housebuilding, the impact is a disconnect between working hard and getting on.'Weve already made progress in just seven months, unblocking 20,000 stuck homes. But theres more to do.Were urgently using all levers available to build the homes we need so more families can get on the housing ladder. Were sweeping aside the blockers to get houses built, no longer accepting no as the default answer, and paving the way for the next generation of new towns.AdvertisementDeputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner said: I will not run away from the tough choices to fix the housing crisis we inherited that has left thousands of families on housing waiting lists, allowed homelessness to spiral out of control, and stopped an entire generation from picking up the keys to their first home.Today we are embarking on the next chapter in our Plan for Change to build 1.5 million new homes, deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housing in a generation, and raise living standards for working people and families across the country.Other measures announced today include 2 million extra funding for the Building Safety Regulator to help clear its backlog of new-build applications, 3 million for local council planning capacity and 1 million for government agencies, including National Highways, Natural England and the Environment Agency, to speed up the planning approval of new homes and improve feedback to local authorities and industry where required.Manchester has also been allocated 1.5 million to support the next phase of regeneration in Collyhurst in the north of the city, part of the previously announced Victoria North regeneration programme.Council leader Bev Craig said: Victoria North represents one of the most ambitious urban regeneration programmes in Europe and will see more than 15,000 homes built in the next decade, along with a range of employment, social, community, cultural and neighbourhood uses.Its delivery will transform 390 acres [158ha] of brownfield and underutilised land in some of the most deprived wards of Manchester, creating a new town in Manchester, interconnected by quality green spaces which will open up and celebrate the River Irwell.ReactionMelanie Leech, chief executive, British Property FederationThe government has responded to our calls to make the planning system more efficient and effective. It's good that the government is now looking at the impact of statutory consultees on planning applications. The need for a range of statutory consultees to be involved in granting approvals creates delay and thus uncertainty and cost, making some projects unviable. We are delighted that the government has listened to the industry and taken action to address these issues.We urge the government to be even bolder in streamlining processesThe additional funding for key statutory consultees is welcome and should help speed up the delivery of homes and critical supporting infrastructure and workplaces that make places economically sustainable. Wed urge the government to be even bolder in streamlining processes and ensuring they are adequately resourced.Its also important the government moves as quickly as possible to give the sector policy certainty in addition to the long-term housing strategy we expect a number of consultations over the next few months as well as key decisions such as the building safety levy rates. Swift action and decisions from ministers on these are needed to build momentum for new homes and communities.