Ministers urged to tighten density controls

Former government advisers on urban planning have urged ministers to raise the minimum density standard for new residential development and called for the National Code for Sustainable Buildings to be extended to all new housing developments by the end of next year.

These initiatives, together with a recommendation for the blanket application of the so-called "density direction", are highlighted in a report from the Urban Task Force, just published, which questions the quality of much recent urban regeneration.

In his introduction to the report, architect and Urban Task Force chairman Lord Rogers welcomed the government's recent track-record on urban policy.

"For the first time in 50 years there has been a measurable change of culture in favour of towns and cities, reflecting a nationwide commitment to the Urban Renaissance," stated Rogers.

However, despite notable successes, the report noted that a number of new and old challenges needed to be met.

The report recommended increasing the minimum density standard of new housing to 40 dwellings per hectare.

The Task Force has also made a case that any development proposed at a lower density should be called in, irrespective of the English region involved. At present this "direction" only applies in three English regions.

According to the report: "The majority of new developments remain poorly designed, with public realm and buildings of a very low quality. Where some good practice has emerged, it tends to be in smaller 'infill' schemes where designers can relate to an existing context. However, too many housing projects are just that - thoughtlessly laid out groups of cheaply built fragmented residential units relatively isolated from surrounding communities."

The Task Force has argued for a greater emphasis on good design and better urban master-planning.

"Strict design codes, such as those used for planning layouts, are no replacement for well-informed design professionals," stressed the report.

The Task Force has emphasised the need for better resourced urban development companies and criticised the present plethora of bodies and government programmes involved in regeneration. The report also complained that decisions on urban transport were too often taken piecemeal "in apparent isolation from their impact on regeneration".

The Task Force voiced concern about the government's sustainable communities plan, pointing to "growing anxiety about the Plan's overall cost financially, socially and politically".

The report commented: "Local communities face development that appears to be imposed on them from outside with too little care and attention given to their views about what matters in their local environment.

"Opportunities to make better use of urban land, and thus reduce transport-related emissions are being missed," insisted the report.

Meanwhile, one of the government's most prominent "green" advisers has just said he is "mystified" that the government has not yet insisted that all the new housing proposed for the growth areas is built to meet the most stringent standards on sustainability.

Jonathon Porritt, chairman of the Sustainable Development Commission, told a Commons select committee that he could not understand why the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was not pursing a deal that new homes could only be built provided they met "the highest sustainability standards".

The Task Force's concern about design has been echoed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), which has just reported that only six per cent of 93 schemes completed by volume house builders across a swathe of northern England were judged "good" or "very good".

Some 70 per cent were classified as "average" and 24 per cent were judged to be "poor".

Responding to the Urban Task Force report, CABE argued that local planning authorities should be monitored for quality of design "not just speed of delivery". The commission also called for practical support to help LPAs "measure and monitor design quality, rather than just layering another target and more pressure on already over-burdened teams."

A spokesman for the ODPM welcomed the report and highlighted the administration's commitment to better design, pointing out that the department had stressed the importance of good urban design as integral to planning policy.

"Already 67 per cent of local authorities have design champions compared to 22 per cent in 2001," stressed the spokesman.

"We agree that we still have further to go to meet the challenges of continuing the urban renaissance, and incorporating design excellence into our living and working environment. We will give a more detailed response to the report in due course."

View the ODPM 'Code for Sustainable Building' here.

View the Urban Task Force report 'Towards a Strong Urban Renaissance' here (PDF 553 KB).

View the ODPM Statement on the Urban Task Force report here.

View the CABE response to the Urban Task Force report here.

Roger Milne

24 November 2005