Design
LOCAL AUTHORITY DESIGN CHAMPIONS – Raising the Quality of Design in the North East
The North East Local Authority Design Champions met in early November to give their feedback to the Local Authority Design Capacity report (see below) and agree how some of the report’s findings could be addressed.
Did they recognise the picture? Yes – there were not enough qualified urban design staff working in the region. Yes – development control officers were processing a huge number of applications on tight time-scales, with little training in how design quality could be monitored or effected. Yes – very few applications were rejected on design grounds. But – there were lots of positives. There were distinct pools of expertise and existing patterns of sharing these across a number of local authorities. The creation of new Development Plans gave the opportunity to highlight the need for good design. Members reported that the public are becoming increasingly aware that new developments don’t last unless they are planned and designed properly.
The Champions (together with representatives from CABE, English Heritage, One NorthEast and Northern Architecture) agreed a 3-point agenda for improving local authorities’ performance, based on Policies and Practices, Training and Recruitment, and Vision, Communication and Promotion. A full report of the meeting can be downloaded below.
One action has already resulted from the meeting. There will be a session for champions on 14 December at Stockton on design quality and local development frameworks. See Home Page – Events for further details or email michael.crilly@teesvalleyregeneration.co.uk
The Design Champions and Historic Environment Champions in the North East are now part of one network. The network is supported by CABE, English Heritage and One NorthEast and is part of Ignite, the North East Centre of Excellence in Regeneration.
3 November meeting report and 3-point action agenda. Word document.
