Summary: We are replacing the outdated and unenforceable design compendium with a brand-new building design guide to deliver beautiful homes that families and communities are proud to call their own.
- We are committed to building the homes this country needs, but it is not all about bricks, mortar and numbers. Too often, new developments come at the expense of beauty, quality and design.
- We want to stamp out bad design and give local people greater say in the design of homes built in their area. We will introduce a new design guide and introduce a national standard for all local authorities to adhere to, which local people can then adapt in the way most appropriate for their areas.
- Our guide will empower residents to take our key characteristics and apply them to the styles that work best in their local area, allowing us to build truly beautiful homes that fit with local areas.
Background
- We don’t currently put enough emphasis on how homes look, meaning they’re often out of character with local areas. At present, there is no accepted national standard for the development of homes, only vague documents with little enforceable power.
Our solution
- We are publishing a new design guide with a vision for better designed homes – and this will be led by local people who know best what works for their area. We want to give local authorities the opportunity to develop and implement their own design code, taking the principles of a national guide but adapting it to optimise design and beauty in the most locally appropriate way.
Conservative record
- We updated the National Planning Policy Framework to give extra weight to new design. This followed the commitments in the 2017 Housing White Paper to give a stronger voice in the design of new housing to drive up the quality and character of developments. This new design guide will go far further in setting and enforcing standards.
Q: Is this too prescriptive – different people will have different opinions about what constitutes a ‘good’ design?
No, quite the opposite. We are encouraging design freedom but ensuring that high standards are upheld. We will ask local authorities to create their own design code based around the aesthetics of their community. The national design guide should provide inspiration and local authorities which they will only have to use if they do not produce their own plans.
