The uniqueness of architecture that defines villages and towns has been replaced by concrete and stone chips. The variety of colours has been replaced by grey.
No doubt King Charles will stick to his promise to observe the protocols of office. But I’m banking on a private mentoring of Prime Ministers on sustainable development.
Following robust questions as to why a building had no solar panels on the roof, the developer said he would look at how he might incorporate them.
By giving local communities more control, and broadening the scope of government priorities to include quality and design, we can get Britain building.
Given the long lead times involved in constructing new homes, we can’t afford to let the Government’s weakness or distracted state delay us.
The second piece in our mini-series on housing argues that the planning system needs a far greater focus on buildings that people like.
We sometimes forget the downside of Macmillan’s legacy – rushed housing that later cost a fortune to put right.
“Some who did the damage to our country were crass and careless. But some wrought monstrous havoc knowingly, wilfully. All of them Philistines. Well now the Philistines have met their David.”
Abstraction has its place – in modern art that no one is forced to look at or an experimental novel that no one has to read.
Allowing developers to negotiate at a very local level to provide compensation directly to the community would factor in beauty, practicality and social costs.