Ministers have
called on industry to embrace the latest innovations to make sure we are
building the good quality homes that our country needs.
As part of the
government’s focus on fixing the broken housing market and its ambition of
delivering 300,000 new homes in England by the mid-2020s, it’s essential that
the quality and design of new housing is addressed. This can help secure
support from communities for new homes, and make sure we have good quality
homes that people can feel proud living in and next-door to.
Recent research
shows that more than 7 out of 10 people would support new residential
development if buildings are well-designed and in keeping with their local
area.
Action to boost
innovative approaches for well-designed new homes include:
- £1
billion investment through the Home Building Fund to develop new, modern
approaches to design and construction - To
date, 8 projects across 11 local authorities, backed by government funding,
will use modern methods of construction such as modular homes to build good
quality homes, using the latest techniques, whilst helping to speed up housing
delivery.
- Learning
from other countries like Australia, Norway and Sweden where good design is
embedded in decision making - For
example, based on an Australian model, the government will urge councils to set
their own design quality standards, giving communities the ability to better
reflect their own unique character in local planning policy.
- Embracing
new technologies - For example using
Virtual Reality (VR) technology to win the confidence of communities before a
single brick is laid. By visualising proposed new housing from the neighbour or
homebuyer’s perspective, communities will be able to see how development can visually
contribute to the area from an early stage, even before planning permission has
been granted.
Housing Secretary
Sajid Javid said: "Our homes are the making of all of us, which is why
today’s event on raising the bar on the quality of new homes is so important.
"This
government is determined to make sure that high quality design is the norm
rather than the exception."
Industry leaders,
including local authority planners, developers and design professionals,
attended the Design Quality Conference to share their expertise to ensure how
homes look becomes just as important as the number delivered.
Ministers focused on
how developers can use better quality design in order to win over both
communities and new generations of first-time buyers, who expect the highest
quality homes before parting with their hard-earned deposits.
When things go
wrong, the government has also proposed strengthening ways for homebuyers to
complain when their home hasn’t been built satisfactorily – with these new
measures recently being subject to a consultation.
The event built on
previous government action to ensure new homes are built using quality
materials and design methods, as set out in the recently published draft
National Planning Policy Framework.
The document, which
is currently out to consultation, outlines requirements for design guides and
codes to feature prominently in new Local Plans, significant consideration to
be given to existing local character as well as setting out the density of developments
that meet the needs and expectations of the community.
The conference will
also include speakers from the Royal Institute of British Architects, Stephen
Lawrence Trust, The Princes Foundation, Historic England and Homes England as
well as other experts with experience in delivering excellent build quality for
new and existing communities.
