Streets ahead
THIS is an exciting time for new housing. That idea may astound readers battling the banal, poorly planned housing estates of volume house-builders that are spreading like a disease across Britain. Campaigners against that sort of ugliness have our sympathy, but a different approach to place-making has emerged. It is creating communities, revitalising local economies and providing well-planned streets that echo the vernacular of the surroundings.
If this example proves popular, it could make development seem a positive benefit, rather than an evil to be fought at all costs. A good example is Cotford St Luke in west Somerset, built in the grounds of an old asylum, with pretty streets, a pub, school, supermarket, community hospital and hall, bus service and much green space.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchy of Cornwall led the way in this. Following the success of Poundbury, outside prosperous Dorchester in Dorset, an extension to the tired Cornish seaside town of Newquay, Nansledan, was begun in 2014. Master-planned by Hugh Petter of ADAM Architecture, Nansledan has none of Poundbury’s Classical set pieces. Instead, the materials and colour palette of seaside resorts dictate the cheerfully painted streets, enlivened with Art Deco flourishes; the architect Dominic Roberts has added a superb Arts-and-crafts-style primary school.
Style, however, is only one aspect of the achievement. Poundbury created a community, for different income levels and stages of life, in which the car was subservient to the pedestrian and cyclist. Nansledan has added greater sustainability to the mix. Slate and granite from local quarries reduces the carbon emissions and supports muchneeded jobs. There are shops, allotments and holes in the eaves for swifts. The local authority is so confident in the Duchy’s bona fides that Nansledan has been given a local development order: a new kind of blanket planning permission, which means that, within certain constraints, businesses wanting to locate there can invest without the usual risks associated with planning.
The Government used to face two ways on planning. It wanted to liberalise the system, to make development easier, but also improve standards. The first ambition has been reduced since the loss of a safe seat in the Chilterns last year, but there are still excellent initiatives, such as the National Design Guide, to promote the Nansledan effect. Estate owners can see the Duchy of Cornwall’s model not only creates better settlements, but increases the economic return over time. There are promising signs that pension funds have begun to notice these benefits—their involvement in the market could be transformative.