Design out the housing controversy

There is nothing more likely to anger residents than the prospect of a new large housing development assigned to their neighbourhood.

But while it feels as though every area is under pressure to supply more and more housing, the statistics show the level of house-building has actually been much higher in the past.

So why is new housing so controversial?

Our feature this week suggests it might partially come down to design. The Government has placed too much emphasis on achieving housing numbers and too little on building attractive places to live that are truly sustainable.

That is the nub of the matter. At present, every new development makes the quality of life that little bit worse for its existing neighbours, with extra pressure on schools, doctors, roads, sewerage, etc. When mitigation measures are demanded by the planning authorities, they inevitably follow several years down the road - if at all.

The Government needs to refine the planning system so that developers and planners are required to take a more holistic approach. At present, each application is looked at on its own merit - and it’s difficult to say that any one proposal for 50 or 100 homes is going to bring the the system crashing down, but of course 20 such applications might.

After all, we all want our children to be able to afford decent housing. If communities could be persuaded that a new development would not add any extra pressures, there would less opposition, fewer protests and whole thing would go much more speedily. The Government might be surprised to find that it could actually build more homes as a result.

‘We all want our children to be able to afford decent housing’