Opposition to housing developments could possibly be diminished if there’s a larger give attention to design and the ‘coronary heart and soul’ of locations, Michael Gove has prompt.
The Levelling Up Secretary hit out at ‘detached or insipid’ planning and prompt the potential of some public areas was being squandered by poor design and upkeep.
His feedback got here within the foreword to a report by the Coverage Alternate think-tank arguing for the creation of a nationwide college of city design and structure.
Mr Gove mentioned: ‘How typically have we seen what would in any other case be good housing developments let down by poor landscaping or detached or insipid city character?’
Michael Gove prompt the potential of some public areas was being squandered by poor design and upkeep
He added: ‘Locations should be on the coronary heart of levelling up but when locations themselves haven’t any coronary heart and soul, then levelling up too will falter.’
The Authorities is dedicated to a goal of 300,000 new houses a 12 months by the center of the last decade however has up to now failed to fulfill that purpose, whereas efforts to spice up development have encountered opposition.
Mr Gove mentioned: ‘A lot of the opposition to new housing developments is commonly grounded in a worry that the standard of the brand new buildings and locations created will probably be poor…
‘If an enchancment in the usual of design reassures the general public that this may in truth not be the case, they might be much less prone to oppose it.’
However he acknowledged there was ‘no silver bullet’ to resolve the housing disaster.
