Housing
Making it home - the power of landscape to create good housing
Policy position statement (2010)
An urgent need for house building must not lead to poor planning and design.
The LI argues that government targets for new homes emphasise on quantity, not quality - which is understandable but not acceptable. Provision of housing cannot be separated from current environmental and social challenges including climate change, biodiversity, energy supply, food security, social cohesion and flood risk management. Ensuring access to good quality housing for all demands that we look again at how we plan and design it.
The LI's vision is that all development should be based on a genuine understanding of its landscape context so that these characteristics can create schemes that are desirable for the developer, the user and the neighbouring communities.
Making it Home makes ten demands:
- Developers incorporate landscape design and planning into initial site planning briefs.
- Developers are encouraged to recognise the power of multifunctional landscapes to achieve their goals as well as environmental and social objectives.
- Local planning authorities make detailed design, maintenance and management plans for landscape part of planning agreement before full approval is given.
- Local planning authorities use Section 106 agreements to deliver landscape maintenance and management objectives in line with the original aspirations for the scheme.
- Planning committees become better informed on the significance of landscape for housing developments.
- Affordable housing providers recognise the power of landscape to deliver many of the requirements set out in the regulatory framework against which their performance is measured.
- The Tenant Services Authority and the Audit Commission (which monitor the performance of social housing providers) incorporate qualitative and quantitative landscape measures in their regulatory regimes.
- Design Review Panels receive all but the most modest schemes for Design Review.
- Building for Life scores are given equal weight to other economic considerations.
- The landscape profession is encouraged to make use of current policy, regulation and standards which provide for landscape as an integrating framework in the development of housing and revitalising of existing stock.
Case studies
Landscape schemes featured as case studies in this policy statement:
- Owenstown, South Lanarkshire
- Abbey Orchard Estate, London
- Cambourne, Cambridgeshire
- Staiths South Bank, Gateshead
- The Triangle, Swindon
Consultation responses
The LI's responses to public consultations on housing issues:
- Building a new regulatory framework Tenant Services Authority, 2009
- Planning Policy Statement for Ecotowns CLG, 2009
- Planning Policy Statement 4: sustainable economic development CLG, 2009
- Delivering housing and regeneration: Communities England and the future of social housing regulation CLG, 2007
Press releases
- Urgent need for house building must not lead to poor planning and design Feb 2010
- Conference to reveal importance of landscape in housing and shaping communities Oct 2008
