Design and Planning - Letter to Chief Planners

"One thing that has not changed is the importance this Government places on the achievement of well designed homes and high quality places. High quality design has a crucial role to play in delivering prosperity and inward-investment, as well as ensuring that your area is an attractive and functional place for people to live. With the passing of the Planning Act 2008, local authorities are required in primary legislation, to have regard to the desirability of achieving good design and this still applies.

"We are therefore radically reforming the planning system to give neighbourhoods far more ability to determine the shape of the places in which their inhabitants live and we need local authorities to support communities to be able to do this.

"the Design Council will:-

1. Provide support for and encourage design review of new housing, neighbourhoods and mixed development schemes particularly at the local level
2. Provide support for and encourage and enable others to provide design advice at local level and to communities who wish to engage in this area.
3. Provide support for and encourage design review for nationally important schemes

Steve Quartermain Chief Planner

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/1906853.pdf