‘We want to ensure that we have a system in place that enables the creation of beautiful places that will stand the test of time’ states the 'Planning for the future' White Paper. Not just well-designed places. Beautiful places.
The Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, set up to advise government on how to promote and increase the use of high-quality design for new build homes and neighbourhoods, proposed that beautiful placemaking be a legally enshrined aim of the planning system.
There is a school of thought promulgating the idea that beauty will help make the public more accepting of new development. As then Secretary of State James Brokenshire wrote in a forward to Policy Exchange’s ‘Building Beautiful Places’ report: ‘to unlock the building of homes at the scale and rate where they are required, we need to overcome public opposition to new development. The promise of beautiful homes and places that add value and character to the area they are built, rather than take away from it, is an essential part of that.’
The public though, when asked about possible advantages that might increase support for more homes being built in their local area, rank higher quality design behind medical facilities, transport links, employment opportunities, affordable housing, green spaces, schools, leisure facilities and shops.
Is beauty in the built environment different to good design? Are beautiful, well-designed places and buildings being created because of, or in spite of, the planning system? Can the planning system better enable the creation of beautiful, well-designed places and, if so, how? And would that really overcome perceived public objections to the principle of development?
Sam Stafford puts these questions to Jaimie Ferguson, Director at Open (Optimised Environments Ltd); Lisa Mcfarlane, Director and RIBA Specialist Conservation Architect at Seven Architecture; and Paul Smith, Managing Director at The Strategic Land Group.
Thanks to Jaimie for the title of this episode.
Twitter handles:
Sam - @samuel_stafford
Jaimie - @jaimieferg
Lisa - @lmcfarlane01
Paul - @Paul_SLG
Some accompanying reading.
Public attitudes to house building: findings from the British Social Attitudes survey 2018.
Architects hope to tear down garden fences of England's future homes.
Strategic Land Group's Research Paper: Perceptions of the design quality of new build homes in England.
https://strategiclandgroup.co.uk/2020/07/17/design-quality-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/
Place Alliance's Housing Design Audit for England.
http://placealliance.org.uk/research/national-housing-audit/
Some accompanying viewing.
Homer is asked to design a car for the company run by his long-lost brother.
50 Shades of Planning
Sam Stafford started posting on the 50 Shades of Planning blog in 2012 and in 2019 turned it into a podcast. 50 Shades of Planning is about the foibles of the English planning system and it's aim is to cover the breadth of the sector both in terms of topics of conversation and in terms of guests with different experiences and perspectives.
50 Shades episodes include 'Hitting The High Notes', which is a series of conversations with leading planning and property figures. The conversations take in the six milestone planning permissions or projects within a contributor’s career and for every project guests are invited to choose a piece of music that they were listening to at that time. Think Desert Island Discs, but for planners. If you would like to feature on 'Hitting The High Notes', or know somebody that would make a great guest, please email [email protected].
If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...
'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.
Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html
Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford), and his blogs can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com.
As with the 50 Shades Blog, the 50 Shades Podcast is a platform for Sam's personal opinions, which may or may not represent the opinions of his past, present or future employers.
50 Shades of Planning is produced in partnership with Cratus Group.
Why Fifty Shades? Well, planning is not a black and white endeavour. There are at least fifty shades in between...
