The Commission was established as an independent body to advise the UK Government on how to promote and increase the use of high-quality design for new build homes and neighbourhoods. It released its first report ‘Living with Beauty’ on 30 January 2020.
They stress that beauty must become the natural result of working within our planning system. To achieve this result, they have three aims for the system as a whole –
- Ask for Beauty
- Refuse Ugliness
- Promote Stewardship
They state these aims must be embedded in the planning system and in the culture of development, in such a way as to incentivise beauty and deter ugliness at every point where the choice arises. To do this they make policy proposals in the following areas:
- Planning: create a predictable level playing field
- Communities: bring the democracy forward
- Stewardship: incentivise responsibility to the future
- Regeneration: end the scandal of left behind place
- Neighbourhoods: create places not just houses
- Nature: re-green our towns and cities
- Education: promote a wider understanding of placemaking
- Management: value planning, count happiness, procure properly
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