Yesterday’s announcement of Government’s design guidance is a very welcome step in the right direction.
We should move from a planning permission-led system to a building permit-led system. Design rules should be strict, clear, but limited.
Increasing housing supply is not just about the Green Belt but better aligning what we build with the places people most desire.
Councils in towns and cities have often been obstructive.
Greg Clark’s decision on the Swiss Cottage Tower highlights the design disconnect and its impact on the popularity of what we build.
Councillors need not be passive as planning officers push through ugly developments.
Back then, hundreds of houses and streets made way for tower blocks. We should be wary of returning to that policy.
Come on, Mr Mayor. You are not the prisoner of a 1940s command and control planning system.
The Mayor agreed to a review of the London Plan to see what gets in the way of providing street-based developments
The fall of Thatcher brought Heseltine back to the Environment Department. The results, for estate renewal, were dire.
An attractive alternative scheme for Mount Pleasant would actually increase the number of new homes
This is the right answer for residents, for the city and for taxpayers.
A massive increase of supply of good normal housing that real people want to live is an idea worth pursuing
Regenerating estates into traditional streets could create 250,000 extra homes in London.
The second piece in our mini-series on housing argues that the planning system needs a far greater focus on buildings that people like.