Comment
The jury’s still out on the National Design Guide
Neil Woodhouse, Director in the Design team, explains why new guidance highlighting the importance of design in planning should be welcomed but warns that the jury is still out on how much it will genuinely deliver.
There’s no doubt that the Government’s National Design Guide has set an ambitious vision for the future of planning and development in the UK. Recognising the need to deliver developments that genuinely benefit the communities in which they are situated, the document aspires to provide a gold-standard from which local authorities can create their own local design guides and policies. However, implementing the Guide’s aspirations at a local level in its current form won’t come without its challenges.
By setting out ten characteristics for a well-designed place, the Guide acknowledges the importance of design in planning new, green neighbourhoods needed to help meet housing demand while promoting wellbeing, community cohesion and sustainability. This is undoubtedly a welcome step, since design is fundamental to people’s experience of place. Its impact ranges from creating secure environments through to delivering inclusive spaces that cater for the needs of diverse communities.
The reverse is also true – poorly designed places can have negative effects on the communities in which they are situated. In some cases, poorly designed neighbourhoods and spaces can drive people away and create places that depress and devalue society.
And, with ongoing pressure to deliver sustainable development, design will also play a key role in reducing carbon emissions in the built environment. In 2019, 264 local authorities have declared climate emergencies. For these authorities, prioritising sustainable development is key, and carefully considered design at the application stage can help ease the pressure placed on the environment by new developments.
The Guide could be a catalyst that encourages developers to focus on design aspects of schemes to improve their adaptability, sustainability and longevity. It champions the design of homes, for instance, that are future-proofed and more sustainable as a result of being adaptable to the different needs of a range of demographics. It also puts forward a robust vision of what future development should look like by highlighting the importance of development which enhances the natural environment, provides a mix of uses for a community and includes safe and inclusive public spaces.
These are all key pressures that many local authorities and developers face together and guidance from Government is a step in the right direction. However, while it provides broad design principles at a national level, the Guide stops short of mandating clear, detailed design requirements that can be used at the local level. For this reason, the Guide could be ineffective and, at worst, counterproductive and distracting.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has said that local authorities should use the document as a reference from which to create their own local design guides. However, this could prove problematic. It’s widely recognised that planning authorities are needing to stretch ever-thinning resources. It is not clear how the extra time and potential costs associated with external consultants in both implementing and policing new design policies are going to be resourced. The risk, therefore, is that poor interpretation of the guide or a misunderstanding of its role could result in local policies which seek to control design and stymie innovation instead of promoting the highest design standards.
The document aims to provide a unified approach to design nationally. Yet it could actually create discrepancies between authorities that have the budget to implement its aims and those that haven’t. Good design could potentially be limited to local authorities with higher tax-receipts and more affluent catchment areas – widening the socio-economic gap between neighbouring authorities at least in the short term.
The focus on high-quality design championed in the National Design Guide could also conflict with recent changes to permitted development rights introduced under the current Government. These rights, which allow commercial and office buildings to be converted into housing without the need for planning permission, have been criticised for producing poor quality homes. This is a problem that has been acknowledged by the Housing Secretary and is currently being reviewed by the Government. It’s also unclear how permitted development rights, which curtail the ability of communities to influence their local areas, are compatible with the aims of the National Design Guide.
The National Modal Design Code, which is due to be consulted on in early 2020, may provide additional detailed guidelines that can be used by planning authorities to address these issues. And the current Government’s upcoming housing white paper, which will consider how faster and more efficient decision making can be fostered while also instilling design at the heart of the planning process, may also reconcile some of these apparent contradictions.
However, this is Conservative policy and will only likely be taken forward in its current form if the Conservatives remain in government after the General Election. Whilst the Conservatives are some way ahead in the polls, to achieve an increase in seats having been in Government for almost a decade is unheard of. As my colleagues in in the Strategic Communications team would tell you, the current received wisdom is that unless the Conservatives secure a majority there will likely be an ‘anyone but them’ coalition. This would probably result in a further election at some point next year due to its inherent instability. So, whilst the objective of better design is likely to be shared whoever is in Government, the means to the end may well change again before the Guide has any real impact.
With these major tests ahead, it’s difficult to pass definitive judgment on the efficacy of the National Design Guide. While it should be welcomed as a document that shows the Government takes the role of design in development seriously, the jury is still out on how impactful it will ultimately prove.
27 November 2019