Housing and Regeneration Bill

These amendments add a missing link to the Bill's sense of what the Homes and Communities Agency is for. Its object already includes to improve the supply and quality of housing in England and to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development. It cannot achieve these without enabling good design to be paramount, but we do not have as yet that design culture in all planning authorities and among all housing developers which can achieve the objectives. We have now excellent obligations with regard to sustainability and we need to have a parallel obligation on those concerned to pay attention to design standards and take them seriously. These amendments flesh out significant comments made in recent authoritative reviews. Kate Barker pleaded for higher priority for design and for enabling design review panels to function widely, adding that, "““the costs of poor design are high””," and that, "““good design attracts people, investment and activity to places””." She added, echoing my noble friend Lord Howarth of Newport, that, "““what constitutes good design is well documented””" in both government and CABE standards. The Calcutt review called for a nationwide system of design review. My noble friend the Minister, no less authoritative, said in her speech at the end of Second Reading: "““I take the point about design-review panels””.—[Official Report, 28/4/08; col. 116.]" These amendments are to help her out, but they will also help housing developers. Consistent nationwide standards of what is expected are helpful to national firms. To have to do some things in Leicestershire and different things in Yorkshire is not helpful. Above all, they will help the very many people who will live in new and rehabilitated houses, who deserve proper consideration of the best means to give them homes of beauty, accessible to transport, schools, clinics, places to meet or worship, in communities which are inhospitable to crime and can thrive and prosper sustainably. These amendments will protect and enhance the ““dowry””, to use the RIBA's phrase, of the best practice of the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships, and I am sure my noble friend will find them an asset.