Design Council CABE – Written Evidence (BEN0177)

About this paper

1. This paper is a written evidence contribution to the House of Lords Select Committee Inquiry on a National Policy for the Built Environment. In this paper we set out the role of the Design Council and how we work to support the delivery of high quality places where businesses want to locate and people thrive.

About the Design Council

2. Design Council is an independent enterprising charity that champions great design to improve lives. Our work places design at the heart of stimulating business growth; helps to transform our public services and enhances places and cities. We advance new design thinking, encourage debate and inform government policy.

3. In 2011, we merged with the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and now offer direct support to help all those in the planning process to deliver better quality development

4. As an advisor to government on design, Design Council Cabe offers policy advice and are commissioned to deliver direct support to help meet key government objectives. In particular, we work closely with DCLG sitting on its Housing and Planning Sounding Boards. We also sit on the Government’s Design Advisory Panel. Importantly, we work across government on a range of priorities to deliver better quality places. For example, we are currently working with BIS to identify how investment in the built environment can create the right conditions to stimulate innovation and local growth.

5. Advising, influencing and inspiring, we work to create well-designed, inclusive buildings, places and spaces.

Policymaking, integration and coordination

Are the decisions that shape England’s built environment taken at the right administrative level?  What role should national policy makers play in shaping our built environment, and how does this relate to the work and role of local authorities and their partners?

6. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out a clear policy framework for decision-making, supplemented by the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG). These, alongside up-to-date Local Plans should provide the policy and structures for coherent and consistent decision-making.

7. Further devolution and the advent of combined authorities will provide a further mechanism for joined up local decision-making across functional economic and housing market areas. City regional decision-making should include housing and planning powers to provide greater consistency with Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) geographies and to accurately reflect travel to work areas.

8. Our Councilor’s guide to Urban Design set out the important role that councillors’ play in the delivery of high quality well designed places and buildings. In order to tackle the major housing challenge that we face there is a need to take difficult decisions, but this accountability has to be linked to a package of incentives to encourage politicians and ultimately their electorate to accept new housing.[1]

9. Comprehensive and compulsory training for councillors’ is crucial in order for planning committee members to take the bold and difficult decisions that will be needed to deliver housing, infrastructure and major regeneration projects at scale across the country.

How well is policy co-ordinated across those Government departments that have a role to play in matters such as housing, design, transport, infrastructure, sustainability and heritage? How could integration and co-ordination be improved?

10. The role of a Chief Architect, in our view would not aid co-ordination. Bringing policy functions together whether there is synergy, such as the formation of the Cities Unit or Government Property Unit provides a flexible, agile means to address strategic “place” issues across all the aforementioned areas.

11. No one government department has the ability to, or should, influence decision-making in places across the country. This co-ordination has better results when done at city-region level and through cross Whitehall co-ordination and locational leads, as per BIS Local and the above mentioned units.

12. Organisations such as Design Council Cabe, Historic England and the new National Infrastructure Commission provide useful delivery support mechanisms to ensure integration and co-ordination occurs and is continually improving.

National Policy for planning and the built environment

Does the NPPF provide sufficient policy guidance for those involved in planning, developing and protecting the built and natural environment? Are some factors within the NPPF more important than others? If so, what should be prioritised and why?

13. Greater weight should not be given to certain elements of the NPPF over others. It is important that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) chapters and sections retain equal weight so as not to prejudice the determination of individual applications or the production of Local Plans which must rest with the Local Planning Authority.

14. The Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) online tool provides an effective means for ensuring that policy is kept up-to-date to reflect practice and to ensure that there is an annual update of the guidance. This mechanism should be allowed to bed down before further amends are made to the system.

Is national planning policy in England lacking a spatial perspective? What would be the effects of introducing a spatial element of national policy?

15. It should be for Local Planning Authorities and Combined Authorities to determine their priorities based on evidence at a city region level. It is unclear what weight a “National Spatial” plan would have alongside the existing NPPF and PPG. It is also unknown how a “National Spatial” plan would sit with the context of the existing LEP network, their Strategic Economic Plans and plans that Combined Authorities will be required to produce.

Is there an optimum timescale for planning our future built environment needs and requirements? How far ahead should those involved in the development of planning and built environment policy be looking?

16. Local Plans need to have a clear spatial vision fifteen years, looking ahead to ensure that they plan robustly for future change in their area. Most Local Plans clearly set out this long term timeframe, although to assess housing supply, this is on a somewhat more limited time frame of five years. Infrastructure Delivery Plans (IDPs) robustly produced with a sound evidence base must clearly set out costed and prioritised plans for the planning and delivery of strategically significant infrastructure in order to provide certainty to infrastructure providers and developers.

Buildings and Places: New and Old

What role should the Government play in seeking to address current issues of housing supply? Are further interventions, properly coordinate at central Government level required? What will be the likely effect upon housing supply of recent reforms proposed for the planning system?

17. The Productivity Plan sets out clear measures to increase housing supply, including further reforms to the planning system. The Government should set out a clear housing supply strategy, building on recent announcements around “Planning in Principle” and “Starter Homes”. This new strategy should be clear in what numbers could be achieved over the course of this Parliament and how this clearly meets demographic need. Such a strategy should make a clear commitment to achieve high quality design in new housing and better quality places whilst setting out the various mechanisms that will be used to deliver such as Design Review, as set out in the NPPF.

To what extent do we make optimum use of the historic environment in terms of future planning, regeneration and place making? How can more be made of these national assets?

18. The historic environment adds commercial and economic value to places across the UK. People spend more in their local economy after investment in the historic environment. Historic England research has demonstrated for every £1 invested in the historic environment directly contributes an additional £1.60 to the local economy over a ten year period.

19. Historic England is critical to the success and enhancement of our historic assets. CABE and latterly Design Council Cabe have a long history working with Historic England. As separate organisations with separate remits, responsibilities and priorities we both deal with the built environment, we often touch on the same projects, for example when we assess planning applications, comment on planning or other policy, or through our training programmes and publications.  We liaise frequently, have a good working relationship and look to work jointly wherever it is appropriate. For example, we collaborate through the Urban Panel and on joint guidance on tall buildings and building in context.
20. Within the context of the upcoming Spending Review it is critical that support remains for Historic England beyond its existing settlement to optimise the benefits derived from our historic assets.

Skills and Design

Do the professions involved in this area (e.g. planners, surveyors, architects, engineers etc.) have the skills to adequately consider the built environment in a holistic manner? How could we begin to address any skills issues? Do Local Authorities have access to the skills and resources required to plan, shape and manage the built environment in their areas?

21. As local authorities face increasing pressures and demands on their resources, it will be important for new models and more efficient ways of working to be developed. The Local Government Finance Settlement and outcomes of the CSR will have a major impact on local planning authorities over the next period.

22. Our City Design Programme has, for over two years, provided consistent and flexible design support and advice in various towns, cities and boroughs to provide cost effective support and resources to authorities. The efficient and effective manner in which this programme operates also helps to generate revenue for the authority and acts as CPD training for officers as well as comprehensive and integrated design and planning training for elected members. It de risks the development process and creates certainty for applicants and developers.

23. See Appendix for further information about our Cities Programme.

Are we using the right tools and techniques to promote high quality design and ‘place-making’ at the national level? How could national leadership on these matters be enhanced?

24. Government must set the benchmark. In line with the NPPF, all publicly funded development projects should seek to achieve good design and be subject to proven mechanism such as Design Review to do so. CABE, and latterly Design Council Cabe, has been at the forefront of promoting well designed development for over fifteen years and has a long track record in advising on major schemes from the London 2012 to Crossrail to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs).

25. National leadership is important, but as set out previously, local authorities and city regions should have in place their own arrangements drawing on best practice as each city has different needs requirements and pressures.

26. Our Cities Programme, has been a step change in the tools and techniques on offer to promote high quality design and ‘place-making’, This new approach has been endorsed by Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and we are now working with officials to see how more towns and cities could benefit from the Programme. See Appendix for further information.

Community involvement and impact

Do those involved in delivering and managing our Built Environment, including decision-makers and developers, take sufficient account of the way in which the built environment affects those who live and work within it? How could we improve consideration of the impacts of the built environment upon the mental and physical health of users, and upon behaviours within communities?

27. Neighbourhood Planning has provided a good platform by which to bring community groups and Parish Councils into the planning process, for them to shape and develop their own plans and to be positive about development that is well designed and in context of their area. Indeed, evidence has demonstrated that achieving good quality is important to communities and can speed up the delivery of new development - over 73% of people say they would support the building of homes if well-designed.[2]

28. Initiatives such as the NHS England Healthy New Towns programme provide an opportunity to understand and plan more cohesively for the future health needs and requirements of communities. This programme is a good example of the benefits of bringing together, healthcare and local authority partners to raise the ambition for new development.

29. Our work with Bournemouth Borough Council through our Active by Design programme is a good example of how communities can successfully influence and enhance their built environment to improve health and well-being. For further information see appendix.

How effectively are communities able to engage with the process of decision making that shapes the built environment in which they live and work? Are there any barriers to effective public engagement and, if so, how might they be addressed?

30. The Neighbourhood Planning process has been effective in democratising the planning process further. The main issue is around involvement and engagement in Local Plans which is a long and time consuming process. This is an area that could be examined to improve public participation and inclusion.

Appendix

Design Council Cabe Cities Programme

Context

Cities across the country are not reaching their full potential constrained by insufficient infrastructure and a lack of affordable housing, amongst other key constraints.

To tackle this challenge the Design Council Cabe has developed an innovative new system of support for cities blending local knowledge and world-class expertise to help bring forward necessary development to stimulate local economic growth.

Piloted with Oxford City Council, our new Cities Programme not only offers a means to unlock stalled developments and deliver new homes and infrastructure; it offers the opportunity to create, at pace, good quality places where businesses want to locate and invest and where people want to live and visit.

Benefits

Design Council Cabe works with all parties engaged in delivering development to support growth: local and central government and the development and construction industry. The Cities Programme can:

-          create confident, high-quality prosperous places

-          help to deliver long-term sustainable economic growth

-          provide certainty for investors and developers

-          ensure necessary new homes and infrastructure are brought forward at the right time, in the right place and are of better quality

-          build confidence in the local authority

-          identify opportunities and challenges earlier in the process to enable stakeholders to create better results

How it works?

To meet the needs of every place, we provide:

• multi-disciplinary design panels selected to meet the specific needs of each city
• design support and review throughout the early stage design and planning process
• strategic specialist expertise to assist in the shaping of policy
• expert advice to maximise the impact of policy implementation
• training to build capacity, knowledge and expertise within the Local Planning Authority
• building a database of knowledge to inform continuous improvement of services for the benefit of the city

How is it funded?

Our pilot with Oxford City Council has demonstrated that our Cities Programme can be funded through planning fees. However, through our conversations with local leaders we know that where land values are lower and viability more challenging, they are less likely to participate in the programme.

Case Study – Oxford City Council

Oxford is home to one of the world’s leading universities[3] and, as a centre for technology research, is a key part of the UK’s knowledge economy. There are 1,500 high-tech firms in Oxfordshire, employing 43,000 people.[4] The city’s labour force has the highest proportion of graduates anywhere in the UK, other than Cambridge.[5] The city is also famous for its rich heritage and built environment.

Managing a successful, growing city while maintaining its character and enhancing its reputation for world class design requires careful consideration. A city’s built environment can either facilitate or hinder local ambitions for growth. The quality of the built environment in Oxford is crucial to delivering economic growth, but many sites are very sensitive with myriad constraints and challenges. Development must be of a quality appropriate to an internationally renowned city to reinforce its reputation and sustainable growth.

The City Deal for Oxford and Oxfordshire has set out clear ambitions by unleashing a new wave of innovation-led growth to maximise the areas world-class assets. These include “big science” facilities such as Harwell Oxford Campus and the Oxford Innovation Campus. Public and private funding will combine to invest in a network of innovation and incubation centres in Science Vale Oxford (Oxfordshire’s Enterprise Zone), to develop major sites in Oxford, and to enable the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Through the City Deal, it has been recognised that the region has not reached its full potential and has been constrained by insufficient public transport, an at-capacity road network and a lack of affordable housing, pricing employees and businesses out of the market.[6] The City Deal therefore identifies transport improvements and the provision of high-quality housing as fundamental to the delivery of sustainable economic growth.[7]

To help meet these challenges, Oxford City Council commissioned the Design Council to provide design support services across the city to blend world-class expertise and local knowledge to help bring forward necessary development faster to support local innovation and stimulate economic growth.

The Design Council has worked with nearly every local authority in the country and has a track record of successful projects at every scale, from communities delivering their neighbourhood plans to Nationally Significant projects including London 2012, Crossrail and the new Thames Tideway Tunnel.

Oxford City Council and the Design Council are bringing together Councillors, officers, developers, investors and other key stakeholders to debate and set a benchmark for design in the city. This approach, building on the solid foundations of an adopted local plan, is enabling Oxford to set out a clear vision for the city and have a clear strategy to deliver their ambition. In turn, this helps to provide the climate for investors to be confident and secures a vibrant, prosperous future for the city.

Other towns and cities are also set to benefit from this approach in stimulating local innovation and growth. The Design Council is sharing knowledge and lessons learned across local authorities now delivering local growth to support other councils with limited resources in tackling the challenges of bringing forward the right type of high-quality development, in the right place at the right time.

Oxford’s case demonstrates how to secure quality development that supports local priorities. The city has a bright future, and is very well-placed to flourish and grow in an innovation-led economy. However, it also has major challenges to overcome in order to achieve its potential, many of which directly related to the built environment. With the highest average house prices of any city outside London[8] and poor transport links between Oxford and Science Vale, the city needs to tackle major housing and infrastructure constraints to enable long-term growth. This requires a strategic view of the scale of potential development, looking beyond individual planning applications to take control of the city’s longer-term future. Design Council support will help the City Council develop the confidence it needs to demand high-quality solutions and to ensure they can be delivered.

Oxford is proving that investment in the built environment and a proactive approach to planning can stimulate local growth by providing certainty for investors as well as helping to provide high-quality affordable homes and critical infrastructure investment across the city.

N.B. This case study was originally prepared by the Design Council in 2014, at the request of the BIS Knowledge & Innovation Directorate for inclusion in the coalition government’s new Science & Innovation Strategy.

Testimonials

“A proactive approach to planning and development is the key to unlocking the potential of all our cities and is at the heart of what this government is trying to achieve. Oxford has always been a city of innovation, with world class reputation and I am delighted the City Council is building on this tradition by working with the Design Council to develop a holistic new approach to deliver their ambitions for locally-led growth.  I encourage other cities across the country to look at how they could use, and benefit from, the Design Council new cities programme to help deliver housing and infrastructure, at pace and as set out in their city deals.”

Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government:

"Oxford was selected to bid for the City Deal because of its continuing growth potential, and its contribution to the national economy. Our focus is on creating employment and economic growth in the knowledge economy, supported by housing and infrastructure."

‘Oxford City Council is seeking to be a world class city for all its residents, and high quality design in every aspect of the built environment including its public spaces is a key component in creating an environment of which we can be proud of, and in which people are happy to live. The work of the Design Review Panel has already made a substantial contribution to the quality of some key regeneration schemes in the city, in the short period since it was established, and we are indebted to the Design Council for the excellent support work and professional skills that have been provided to the Panel and the City Council.’

Councillor Bob Price, Leader of Oxford City Council

Case Study - West Howe, Bournemouth

12 October 2015