PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Building Regulations (16 October 2018)

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of aesthetics of the built environment on people's quality of life.

Asked by:
Sir John Hayes (Conservative)

Within the Housing White paper, we made a commitment to building the right homes in the right places. Following this the revised National Planning Policy Framework states that “good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, and creates better places in which to live and work” and that new development should be “visually attractive as a result of good architecture, layout and appropriate and effective landscaping”.

The Department has not carried out a systematic review of the impact of the aesthetics of the built environment on people’s quality of life. However, we are in the process of gathering evidence of good practice in relation to design quality, which we are sharing with the wider sector through events, such as the design quality conference that we hosted in April this year. I have also challenged the development community to consider whether they are building the conservation areas of the future.

Answered by:
Kit Malthouse (Conservative)
24 October 2018