strategic urban design: the key to future development plans
Strategic urban design: the key to future development plans
If the Government’s focus on creating new communities is to be balanced with a drive to improve quality, CABE’s Richard Simmons believes we need a ‘step change’ in design, planning and delivery programmes for new developmentsMore case studies and features from RUDI's recent publication PLACEmaking can be accessed online in pdf format, or from the case studies or features menus. For a printed copy, please order here
The design and planning system is ‘as good as it’s ever been’ in terms of supporting design policy, says Richard Simmons, chief executive at CABE. Planning Policy Statements, including the new draft PPS4 and PPS1 through PPS6 all emphasise the good design principles rooted in By Design (2000). ‘This gives CABE, and all those that support good design in the planning system, great reinforcement, particularly when it comes to appeal. However, from talking to architects, planners and inspectors, it’s clear that more needs to be done.’ With the introduction of Regional Development Agencies as spatial planning bodies, replacing the Regional Assemblies, one key issue is where design sits in local development frameworks and regional spatial strategies. At the moment, says Simmons, the policy context locally doesn’t sufficiently reflect national thinking. CABE is interested in the idea of strategic urban design, and is running a research project (StrUD), led by an expert panel, on the idea of designing at a scale larger than the neighborhood – at city or sub-regional scale. Stategic urban design, or ‘creative sub-regional spatial planning’, will be key to future delivery plans in a period of increased demand for housing and infrastructure.
‘We currently struggle with the design impact of large-scale plans, and there’s a tendency to assume that the market, or large infrastructure projects such as motorways, will drive them. Too often, urban design is seen only as the look of bollards once you’ve got down to street level,’ says Simmons. ‘We are also considering the design impact of policy statements on local development documents. With many of these documents currently being bounced back for revision, the timescale on this will depend on throughput. As this is a new system, CABE is not overly critical, but feels that the system needs more work. ‘Our role is currently a voluntary and advisory one, but I think there’s a lot to be said for CABE having the opportunity to review the relevant parts of LDFs in future,’ says Simmons.
There is some good practice in the UK, of course. The Thames Gateway, as it’s developing, will move towards creating a combined economic, spatial and environmental vision. The issue surrounding the Thames Gateway is a microcosm of the national problem of housing design and layout, and the imposition of inappropriate standardisation. CABE launched a Design Pact consultation at the Thames Gateway Forum last November. The idea is that the Pact will become an explicit commitment between development partners to deliver design quality. ‘The consultation concerns how we implement this, in terms of land agreements and the use of public funds. Many successful projects, for example Canary Wharf, have some really strong design elements to them and were delivered through land agreements rather than the planning system,’ says Simmons. The Dukes of Westminster used similar models when creating the London Grosvenor estates, and it introduces the question of who is to take responsibility for the quality and maintenance of the project.
The public sector is usually keen to control streets, parks and public assets. If so, it needs to make sure it has resources to manage them and, clearly, it often does not. ‘It is not acceptable to have ‘no go’ areas in our towns and cities, so there needs to be some rebalancing of the covenant between the landowner and the community. Increasingly, the public and private sector are expected to work together.
‘At CABE and CABE Space, adds Simmons, ‘we are looking holistically at how the public realm is managed, and at what a 21st century covenant might look like.’ In London, for example, a strategy for city-wide management of public spaces is being considered. At the Thames Gateway, the Government is looking at the possibility of setting up a Trust to manage long-term investment in, and maintenance of, the parklands. ‘It really is an interesting idea. What we’re actually talking about is the need to consider management as part of the design process.’
This leads to consideration of the role of the public sector in design and planning. ‘Our view of development is frequently too short-term, says Simmons. ‘We take what’s on offer from the private sector because we want things now.’ We need to take a long-term view of these things and, sometimes, hold out for better quality, he adds. The public sector often expects the private sector to solve all the problems. That is neither fair nor viable. ‘We need to see a less adversarial approach to development, with a common agreement on what all parties are trying to achieve.’
Richard Simmons, chief executive of CABE, spoke to Juliana O’RourkeDesign knowledge and review
We underestimate how difficult and complex development is. Planners need to know enough about design to know when they’re seeing a poor quality scheme, says Simmons, and when to intervene in terms of design. ‘Unfortunately, we seem to reduce the planner’s role to kind of a bureaucratic processing job with little time for design assessment. Local authorities need to invest in design advice and negotiating skills so they can get their views across.’
CABE’s design review scheme is helping to improve design quality. ‘Our advice is to bring the schemes as early as possible to us for review. Our job is not to design, it’s to improve the quality of design. We deal with schemes extremely quickly, and we rarely say anything as specific as “paint it blue, or put an extra window in here”.’ It is not CABE’s role to take away responsibility or control from the developer, the local planning authority, the designer or the architect.
CABE isn’t involved in Planning Performance Agreements as these are agreements between the developer and the local authority. Designers can, however, says Simmons, make it clear that they will be putting the scheme forward for design review, and that this may have consequences for the agreement if CABE doesn’t approve of aspects of the design quality. ‘If we have major issues with design quality, we can recommend it that the scheme be ‘called in’ for assessment. If this happens, it usually is.’ Even small schemes have been called in as a result of CABE’s recommendation, although increasingly, agreement is reached before the call-in.
