Every new home built in the future should have access to a fruit tree, a new report from the government-backed commission aimed at driving beauty in new housing developments has suggested.
The Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission’s report,Living in beauty contains over 130 practical recommendations to support the creation of more beautiful communities, including planting millions of trees over the next 5 years, as well as opening old canals and supporting every home to have its own or access to a fruit tree
It recommends speeding up the planning process for beautiful buildings through a new ‘Fast Track for Beauty’ rule for councils and increasing democracy and involving communities in local plans and planning applications, including using digital technology like virtual reality and 3D modelling to help locals shape their own areas.
The report said the commission has heard “many concerns” about Homes England’s approach to quality and design, including “a lack of qualitative standards attached to funding offers, including their affordable housing strategic partnerships”.
It added: “This means that grant funding can be used by housing associations to buy ‘off the shelf’ from house builders without any minimum standards.”
Welcoming the report at the Garden Museum, Lambeth, the Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP will say:
Today’s report is important for many reasons, not least because of the powerful argument it makes that a sense of place still matters – and, arguably, in our fast-paced, globalised world, matters perhaps more than ever.
It recognises that our identities go hand in hand with the places and neighbourhoods in which we live and work.
That’s why beautiful, high-quality homes must become the norm, not the exception.
