Make places not just homes, says better building commission

Town halls should encourage the redevelopment of retail parks and large supermarkets into communities that include homes, shops and businesses, a wide-ranging report for the government has found. 

The new mixed-use communities should be supported by new public transport to reduce reliance on cars and are part of plans to revisit these ‘boxland’ developments. The proposals are contained in the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission’s interim report, Creating Space for Beauty. 

The report examines the fundamental reasons for 'ugly' developments and public mistrust, and also calls for communities to be given an earlier say in the development process, rather than just fighting planning applications.

Nicholas Boys Smith, interim chairman of the commission, said: “Redeveloping abandoned out of town retail parks and ugly old supermarkets would deliver something much more beautiful in the form of thriving new communities where people can raise a family, work or settle down. Our 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. 

“Beauty should not be just a property of the old buildings or protected landscapes but something we expect from new buildings, places and settlements. We 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.”

Other interim recommendations to the government include:

• Councils to have confidence in “saying no to ugliness” – with authorities celebrating examples of bad schemes they have turned down and used as examples to encourage beautiful design.
• Any financial support from Homes England and local councils for a development should ‘aim for beauty’ with more work required to understand how this might be achieved and measured.
• Improved and earlier public and stakeholder engagement in the design standards councils set developers in local plans so they can demand better quality.
• High streets should be beautiful, walkable, well-connected places for people to live and work with a greater mix of buildings that includes 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.

Responding to the interim report, communities secretary James Brokenshire said: “I am determined to reach our target of building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, but it’s right that we do not do this at any expense – what is built must stand the test of time. We owe it to the next generation to not just build more homes, but to build communities people can be proud of. As a country, we should not shy away from talking about what building beautifully means and this report is an important contribution to that discussion.”

The commission has praised developments, including The Malings in Newcastle, a riverside development of 76 new homes built on brownfield land and in keeping with traditional terraced properties in the area.

An interim report has been published this week, and the commission will  submit a final report to the government before the end of the year. Commissioners want to receive further comments and evidence which will help them to prepare a final report and further comments and evidence can be submitted by email to BBBBCommission@communities.gov.uk