Housing White Paper: a digital platform?

Much of the discussion in the recently released ‘Housing White Paper’ was around the support for new homes. Although generally considered a small step, we welcome, for example, the £45 million Land Release Fund and Accelerated Construction programme for building on public sector land:

“The starting point is to build more homes. This will slow the rise in housing costs so that more ordinary working families can afford to buy a home” – Teresa May, Prime Minister.

View Architecture for London’s portfolio of recent projects.

We are pleased to note that further funding will be made available to neighbourhood planning groups from 2018-2020, this funding aims to give communities more ability to influence the design quality of proposals.

The most forward-thinking aim, albeit long-term, is the introduction of digital platforms on design, ‘to create pattern-books or 3D models that can be implemented through the planning process’ and ‘used to consult local people on potential designs for their area’. Although a rather vague description, this proposal could lead in an interesting direction, providing that we can avoid a new generation of identikit homes.

‘At present around 60 percent of new homes are built by just 10 companies” – Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Communities

The Housing White Paper suggests listing the sites available for housing that landowners are not currently developing. As a practice working with many smaller developers, we welcome Sajid Javid MP’s support for an increase in transparency around land ownership.

Visit the Architecture for London housing page to view our recent projects.