A week on from the Places at Pace conference
On 19 March 2024 the Office for Place held its first conference, in our new home of Stoke-on-Trent. A week on from the day, we wanted to share some details on the event, alongside some reflections from our chair, Nicholas Boys Smith.
The event took place across two venues, with a breakfast session at Stoke Town Hall opening the day, and the main event happening at Staffordshire University바카라 사이트檚 Catalyst conference centre. With attendees from the public, private, and third sectors, we were delighted to see both events at capacity, with over 50 delegates at the Town Hall and over 180 at the Catalyst.
The day opened with a chance for the sector to quiz the us 바카라 사이트� the Office for Place 바카라 사이트� on how exactly we can support them. Following this, we were delighted to have both Chris Boardman MBE (National Active Travel Commissioner - Active Travel England) and Mary Parsons (Director of Regeneration & Partnerships at Lovell Partnerships Ltd, and former Building Better, Building Beautiful commissioner) discuss their breadth of knowledge on how we can deliver better places.
Across the remainder of the day, and through both plenary and breakout sessions, our speakers addressed important topics 바카라 사이트� how design codes can work at different spatial scales, how setting clear asks on quality can de-risk the development process, how placemakers can better understand what people like and value, and how digital can transform the planning and development sector 바카라 사이트� amongst many others. The day closed out with Lee Rowley MP, Minister for Housing, Planning and Building Safety, addressing delegates and reinforcing the core message of the conference 바카라 사이트� that we can deliver better places when government and industry work together.
The Office for Place would like to offer our thanks to both speakers and delegates who attended. We hope you found the day to be useful and interesting, and that you바카라 사이트檒l join us again next year.
Places at pace: how to fall back in love with the future聽聽
Some reflections from Nicholas Boys Smith, the chair of the Office for Place, on our inaugural conference in our home of Stoke-on-Trent聽
On 18 and 19 March 2024 the Office for Place hosted our inaugural conference in our home in Stoke-on-Trent. Hundreds of leaders and practitioners from the planning, surveying, development, architectural and landscape architect sectors joined my board, officials, and expert advisors for a day of discussions, walking tours, talks and panels. And what a day it was. Four layers of government: Ministers, Whitehall officials, arms바카라 사이트� length bodies and local government. And four agencies leading or participating in conversations: The Office for Place, Active Travel England, Homes England, and Historic England.聽
The feedback (so far) has been fantastic: 바카라 사이트榠nspiring,바카라 사이트� 바카라 사이트榠mpactful,바카라 사이트� 바카라 사이트榓 masterclass,바카라 사이트� 바카라 사이트榞reat,바카라 사이트� 바카라 사이트榠nsightful바카라 사이트� and 바카라 사이트榓 resounding success.바카라 사이트�
Our questions included:聽
- What will the evolving planning system mean for developers, councils, and their advisors?聽聽
- How do we de-risk all types of development whilst also raising standards?聽聽
- What does it mean for greenfield and regenerative development in our towns and neighbourhoods?聽聽
- How do we create new places with sufficient urgency and pace?聽
Here are my top take-aways. All normal caveats apply of course: unavoidably subjective and necessarily reflects the conversations I was in not those I wasn바카라 사이트檛. For those I have not cited: forgive me please, I could not be everywhere! Doubtless, not everyone present would agree with all of these points. Nor should they. But if there was no monotonal uniformity (thank heavens), there was a choir of pleasingly polyphonic variations upon the same symphony.
1. It바카라 사이트檚 harder to fix errors than to make them in the first place
Pretty much everyone now agrees that post-war planning did enormous harm to towns and cities, ripping them apart with dual carriageways, retail parks right besides town centres and the general loss of 바카라 사이트楲ego urbanism바카라 사이트� (finely hewn local streets and squares) for 바카라 사이트楧uplo urbanism바카라 사이트� (faceless lumpen blocks in ill-defined spaces). Sadly, in some places it still feels like we are living in the post-war era. As Jon Rouse, City Director of Stoke-on-Trent, reminded us in a superb opening presentation in the city바카라 사이트檚 glorious Edwardian town hall, 바카라 사이트榬epairing the tears in the urban fabric is much harder than making the tears in the first place.바카라 사이트�
2. The road to meeting our housing need runs through Stoke-on-Trent and Grimsby not just Sussex and Greater London
Though the path is a different and is (initially) more about increasing demand through regenerative place-improvement and jobs. New development in 바카라 사이트榣eft-behind바카라 사이트� places need to be centripetal not centrifugal, regenerative not parasitic, energising not dissipating.
3. The need to rebuilt trust in regenerative development not parasitic development is paramount
Mary Parsons of Lovell Partnerships cited an articulate youngster on regeneration: 바카라 사이트榓t best it바카라 사이트檚 a necessary evil.바카라 사이트� Are we creating for the delight of the public or the plaudits of peers? She continued, 바카라 사이트業바카라 사이트檝e never met anyone who wanted to live in an icon. They want to live in a home.바카라 사이트� Christopher Wren (who was not at the conference) wrote that 바카라 사이트榓rchitecture aims at eternity and is therefore the only thing uncapable of modes and fashions in its labels.바카라 사이트� Let바카라 사이트檚 create places for the plaudit of the people not fellow professionals. Place matters more than decade.
4. Planning is categorically not the proverbial 바카라 사이트榖ad guy바카라 사이트� 바카라 사이트� but we do need to de-risk planning
As one delegate asked, 바카라 사이트榟ow easy is it to know what you can build where? The reality is that it바카라 사이트檚 not that easy.바카라 사이트� Amandeep Singh Kalra of Be First agreed; 바카라 사이트榦ur system바카라 사이트檚 greatest challenge is its discretionary nature바카라 사이트� let바카라 사이트檚 remove subjectivity to set land values.바카라 사이트� A modular house builder added from the floor; 바카라 사이트業 cannot stress enough the importance of predictability.바카라 사이트� When asked by Andrew Taylor from Vistry, 바카라 사이트榗an we ensure that design codes speed things up and don바카라 사이트檛 slow them down.바카라 사이트� It바카라 사이트檚 a fair challenge.
5. We do know what makes a good place
Don바카라 사이트檛 fall for the old canard that 바카라 사이트榙esign is subjective.바카라 사이트� It isn바카라 사이트檛. Where we live, where we walk has very measurable and in large part predictable consequence for our personal health and happiness. We are not automatons controlled by our environment, but we are humans influenced by them as many studies have shown and as Matthew Carmona outlined. Data scientist Chanuki Illushka Seresinhe continued that 바카라 사이트榩eople are happier in more beautiful places.바카라 사이트� Creating better places is therefore very much about improving health and happiness. 바카라 사이트榃e are giving freedom to children,바카라 사이트� as Chris Boardman put it. The interaction between place and movement ran through many of our conversations.
6. Design for children and the elderly and you바카라 사이트檒l probably create good places for everyone
Across the world, humans바카라 사이트� needs from their neighbourhoods are remarkably consistent across class and culture though with important 바카라 사이트榮lopes바카라 사이트� in the data due to climate and latitude. But it can be harder for the very young and the old to get about: it바카라 사이트檚 not that, for example, children are different species with completely different needs but, as Toby Lloyd put it, 바카라 사이트業 don바카라 사이트檛 know many children who drive.바카라 사이트� The same point about the old came up powerfully in one of my conversations. Places carefully considered with children and the elderly바카라 사이트檚 liberty to move about will probably work better for everyone.
7. Good places are green places
There is a virtuous circle between where we live and the weight with which we tread upon the planet. This is true from street trees바카라 사이트� effect on microclimates to how we move about to the longevity and resilience of beautiful buildings and places whose embodied carbons over time tumbles as they find new uses down the decades. Creating and stewarding good places is ultimately to build not just for our generation but for the future, in communion with the future as well as the present and becoming 바카라 사이트榞ood ancestors바카라 사이트� as Mary Parsons put it, citing (ultimately) Roman Krznaric.
8. Aiming high helps
The changes in the 바카라 사이트榖ar바카라 사이트� within the NPPF with the expanded aims of creating beautiful as well as sustainable places and the shift in the 바카라 사이트榖ar바카라 사이트� from schemes needing to be 바카라 사이트榥ot bad바카라 사이트� to needing to be 바카라 사이트榞ood바카라 사이트� has provably made it easier for councils to turn down bad design, as Matthew Carmona reminded us. It is an important statement of raised expectations for how we can live as neighbours.
9. You can and should trust the people
And you need to respect what people tell you, not manipulate it. 바카라 사이트榊ou have to give power away,바카라 사이트� as Stoke-on-Trent chief executive Jon Rouse put it. This includes respecting the important role that local councillors play. Technology is already changing the game here. Victoria Hills, chief executive of the RTPI, made the observation that soon, 바카라 사이트榯he public will be able to design their own places with AI.바카라 사이트� Robert Kwolek of Create Streets was unfazed; 바카라 사이트榠t바카라 사이트檚 an opportunity to be welcomed,바카라 사이트� he judged whilst outlining how working with neighbourhood preferences can boost support; 바카라 사이트榩eople can see in the design code what they said to us.바카라 사이트櫬�바카라 사이트榊ou have to give power away,바카라 사이트� agreed Jon Rouse.
10. Beware of fake consultation
바카라 사이트業바카라 사이트檝e seen plenty of codes that just code on what people were going to do anyway. What바카라 사이트檚 the point of it?바카라 사이트� said Amy Burbridge of Homes England. Asking simple and visual questions is important. Cathy Francis of DLUHC suggested, 바카라 사이트楲et바카라 사이트檚 start with the question: would I live here. I think that바카라 사이트檚 a very powerful question.바카라 사이트� So do I.
11. Pride and heritage matter
People care about home. Let바카라 사이트檚 work with that not against it. As Liam Gregson of the Northern Housing Consortium put it, 바카라 사이트榤ake the most of historic buildings 바카라 사이트� as emblems for people to gather around.바카라 사이트� Paul Williams, a Stoke-on-Trent-based member of our expert advisory panel was very powerful on this: 바카라 사이트榙on바카라 사이트檛 underestimate the concept of pride,바카라 사이트� he said, 바카라 사이트榟elp people realise that they can still love the places they call home.바카라 사이트�
12. This is something we can agree on
There are difficult challenges facing modern Britain where there are fissures in public opinion. This isn바카라 사이트檛 one of them. Anthony Downs, of the Gascoyne Cecil Estate summarised his experience, 바카라 사이트榩eople are often very clear about what they don바카라 사이트檛 like.바카라 사이트� I would agree with this based on all my experience the length and breadth of the country and abroad. It can be surprisingly easy to build consensus about what new places should be like if you ask simple and meaningful questions about character and place and actually respond to the answer.
13. Digital planning hasn바카라 사이트檛 really happened yet
As always, Euan Mills was very compelling on this, 바카라 사이트楶DFs are the very worst model for the web. The web is 30 years old now. But if you ask Chat GPT about planning, it won바카라 사이트檛 tell you anything because it doesn바카라 사이트檛 know anything because it is all lost in PDFs.바카라 사이트� Design codes done well will be clear online process of what can, and cannot, be built easily in certain places. They should de-risk development with a clear quality ask. As Amandeep Singh Kalra put it, 바카라 사이트榮ome local councils are scared of design codes. I would say the opposite is true. They empower councils.바카라 사이트�
14. Design codes need to clarify not complicate
A very good question from Andrew Taylor absolutely hit the nail on the head: how do we ensure that design codes clarity what can be built and don바카라 사이트檛 complicate the process? (I didn바카라 사이트檛 write the down the precise quote because I was on stage at the time.) This is our collective challenge and opportunity. Here, for now, is our answer by the way: 10 criteria for effective design coding
15. There is a new focus on place and a lot to be hopeful about
There was even a lot of hope about. Our conference chair, Toby Lloyd, judged that 바카라 사이트榠t really does feel as if things are moving in the right direction바카라 사이트� and Mary Parsons agreed that 바카라 사이트榳e can keep the faith.바카라 사이트� Paul Williams from the Staffordshire University Business School and a member of our expert advisory panel was keen to 바카라 사이트榟elp people realise that they can still love the place they call home.바카라 사이트� Liam Gregson of the Northern Housing Consortium detected 바카라 사이트榓 new placemaking바카라 사이트� in which people are empowered바카라 사이트� and 바카라 사이트榓 new direction from the Office for Place.바카라 사이트� Anthony Downs told the story of how popular pattern books of attractive brick buildings are quietly winning support for thousands of new homes in Hertfordshire: 바카라 사이트榚nthusiasm grows. passion swells.바카라 사이트�
16. And lots of priorities emerged for future research
Paul Williams, for example, suggested 바카라 사이트榳e have to find ways to measure pride in place to justify investment.바카라 사이트� Others suggested that 바카라 사이트榳hat we바카라 사이트檇 really welcome would be data standards for local plans and design codes.바카라 사이트� Much more on this to follow. Watch this space!
Finally, a warm and heartfelt thank you to all of my board and expert advisors who so kindly gave up their time to join the event to chair discussions and contribute their expertise and to the splendid, dedicated and hard-working team of officials who calmly and coolly made it all happen.聽聽
I바카라 사이트檒l end by citing Caroline Simpson, the brilliant Chief Executive of Stockport Council who also sits on our expert advisory board who concluded about the day, 바카라 사이트業 feel inspired actually.바카라 사이트�
Me too!聽聽
Nicholas Boys Smith
Chair, Office for Place, March 2024
