Maintaining design standards while addressing the housing crisis

Like most planning professionals, I welcome the change because it removes the subjectivity, which has no place in planning policy. Instead, the chapter addresses the principle of good design, which was in place prior to the revisions made in July 2021.  

The focus on high-quality design of housing remains central, specifically in relation to design coding and guides. Paragraph 133 requires that all local authorities’ design guides or codes must be consistent with the National Design Guide and National Model Design Code. A third document which is referenced in this context is Building for a Healthy Life, an updated version of an earlier code document called Building for Life. 

The inclusion of these national-level documents, which we find are frequently quoted in planning appeals and inquiries, provides a useful foundation and a point of reference to assess the quality of design – one that is much better suited to planning policy than the rather vague concept of beauty, partly because it allows for greater density. 

On design codes, the NPPF has made another significant change: the previous government had required that councils prepare local authority-wide design codes. In the recent revisions, the National Model Design Code has been given elevated status, removing the potential for local design codes to stand in the way of housing delivery. 

I believe the National Design Guide and Building for a Healthy Life, which are tried and tested and cite best practice, will continue to be of use and encourage local authorities and developers to retain high design standards. The early stages of masterplanning requires considerable time to be taken to understand objectives and respond appropriately, and these documents help signpost both designers and local authorities to best practice. 

The previous NPPF included a statement (no doubt included to appease backbench disquiet) stating that local character can be taken into account when “councils consider their ability to meet their housing needs”. In other words, schemes could have been rejected if local character was not met.

This requirement, which specifically referred to density, has been deleted in the current version. This is to the benefit of housing associations and developers of social and affordable housing.

The new NPPF strengthens expectations that local authorities facilitate an uplift in density, where appropriate. But increased density in housing needn’t be detrimental to local character and it doesn’t necessarily mean building tall. It’s about where to place elements, including car parking and gardens, and providing shared open spaces. It’s about being super-efficient with a more limited amount of space and highly creative with site layout. 

“The new NPPF strengthens expectations that local authorities facilitate an uplift in density, where appropriate. But increased density in housing needn’t be detrimental to local character”

An important role of the NPPF is to enable quality planning to occur efficiently. There’s a misapprehension that well-designed communities take time. There are many examples to refute this, but perhaps the best is local development orders (LDOs), which can promote both speed and excellence in design.

We’ve researched them at Carter Jonas, such as in our work for Gascoyne Estates in Hertfordshire. Another well-known proponent of LDOs is the King, in his new communities at Poundbury, Nansledan and elsewhere.  

Legacy schemes such as these succeed because they involve dedicated teams of architects who work from a site-wide pattern book. They aren’t granted any greater leniency than other schemes – design is very carefully scrutinised – but because they provide a clear vision for design from an early stage and can be designated as a special planning zone or LDO, planning approval can be fast-tracked.

LDOs, in my view, are part of the answer to Labour’s aim to deliver 1.5 million homes.  

Ultimately, consistent and clear policy and guidance is what is needed to enable good-quality housing, delivered at a good pace and at an appropriate volume to meet housing need. The revisions to the NPPF, together with the potential to use LDOs more frequently, is a step in the right direction.  

Glen Richardson, associate partner – masterplanning and urban design, Carter Jonas