Proposals to establish a new wave of garden cities must be led by locally accountable bodies and benefit both existing and new residents alike, council chiefs have urged.

The warning follows the announcement earlier this week from deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, who pledged the creation of new garden cities would not lead to local communities being burdened with large settlements of new residents.

In a newspaper column written after the DCLG's publication on Monday of the prospectus on Locally-led garden cities, Mr Clegg promised the Government would help authorities overcome logistical or planning barriers, as well as funding and assistance in securing private sector investment.