Tuesday 14 July 2026 4:16 am  |  Updated:  Monday 13 July 2026 3:10 pm

Which shadowy MoD figures are blocking London’s secret new town?

By: Andrew Teacher

Share

Facebook Share on Facebook X Share on Twitter LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn WhatsApp Share on WhatsApp Email Share on Email

With a £4.7bn black hole in defence funding and a 1.5m home building target both likely to test Andy Burnham, could creating a new town on a west London airfield be a welcome revelation for the new PM? If, that is, he can face down a shadowy opposition, asks Andrew Teacher

Fifteen years before he became foreign secretary, David Lammy reportedly told a developer he could ask no questions in the Commons about the potential to redevelop RAF Northolt. When pressed, the MP allegedly responded: “Just don’t go there. We’re not allowed to ask.”

Seven prime ministers later, and the crisis of defence spending (estimated at £4.7bn) is competing with the housing crisis (anyone remember that 1.5m target?) and the black hole in graduate jobs created by Rachel Reeves as the biggest policy headache of the day.

One of Reeves’s recycled dance moves from 50 years back is the government’s new towns programme. Chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, a dozen places have been mooted for around 300,000 homes, and some of the best sites are, you’ve guessed it, former aerodromes: Heyford Park near Oxford and Brabazon near Bristol. One of the best opportunities of all (not on the list for some reason) is smack bang on the Central Line, inside the M25.

The point is a simple one. Set aside the 448 acres Northolt occupies, which is near seven times the size of the King’s Cross regeneration........

© City A.M.