Interim report to be formally unveiled later today
Old retail parks and supermarkets should be redeveloped into mixed communities served by public transport, the government鈥檚 黑洞社区 Better, 黑洞社区 Beautiful Commission said in its interim report published today.
The idea is one of the recommendations contained in the Creating Space for Beauty report which singles out Ash Sakula鈥檚 Malings development in Newcastle for praise.
The full report from the controversial commission, chaired by Create Streets founder Nicholas Boys Smith after , is due out in November.
The interim report also recommends:
:: The public should be involved at a much earlier stage of development, with an emphasis on masterplanning 鈥� rather than communities engaging in town 鈥減lanning by appeal鈥�.
:: Councils should have the confidence to 鈥渟ay no to ugliness鈥� by 鈥渃elebrating鈥� examples of bad schemes they have turned down. The report says this would 鈥渆ncourage beautiful design鈥�.
:: Any financial support from Homes England and local councils for a development should 鈥渁im for beauty鈥� 鈥� though it admits more work is required to understand how this might be achieved and measured.
:: Engage the public earlier and more meaningfully in the design standards set by councils in local plans so they can demand better-quality development.
:: High streets should be 鈥渂eautiful, walkable, well-connected places for people to live and work with a greater mix of buildings鈥� including smaller shops, businesses and homes.
:: Urging different layers of local government to come together and set out a vision for development which reflects the local geography, culture and economic priorities.
The report is due to be launched by housing secretary James Brokenshire at an event at the headquarters of developer U&I in Victoria this lunchtime.
Boys Smith said the commission 鈥� whose advisors include architects Sunand Prasad and Paul Monaghan 鈥� would welcome feedback on the draft proposals before the final report is written.
He said: 鈥淥ur initial report sets many ways we can make our country more beautiful while fulfilling the needs of future generations who will need a roof over their head.
鈥淲e need to move the democracy up-stream from development control to plan-making.
鈥淏eauty should not be just a property of the old buildings or protected landscapes but something we expect from new buildings, places and settlements.
鈥淲e need to deliver beauty for everyone, not just the wealthy. This will require, ultimately, some fundamental changes. Hopefully our report will start part of that important debate with the public and the professions.鈥�
The commission was set up in November by Brokenshire, prompted by centre-right think tank Policy Exchange. It has taken evidence from more than 120 interested parties, held nine evidence sessions and made seven regional visits.
Brokenshire said: 鈥淚 am determined to reach our target of building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, but it鈥檚 right that we do not do this at any expense 鈥� what is built must stand the test of time.
鈥淲e owe it to the next generation to not just build more homes, but to build communities people can be proud of.
鈥淎s a country, we should not shy away from talking about what building beautifully means 鈥� and this report is an important contribution to that discussion.鈥�
The commissioners praised , which it described as 鈥渁 riverside development of 76 new homes built on brownfield land and in keeping with traditional terraced properties in the area鈥�.
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