The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has pressed the government to promote democracy when implementing reforms for better quality housing.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) sought views on introducing a new national Model Design Code and local design codes to create a better quality of new-build housing. The proposals take forward many of the recommendations from the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission report Living With Beauty.
In its response, NALC has welcomed the government’s wish to improve the local quality of housing but said that where possible the neighbourhood planning process should be used to achieve this.
NALC also supported proposed updates to the National Planning Policy Framework which will strengthen protections for protected landscapes, sustainable development and turning down poor development. NALC argued that if a neighbourhood plan has a policy on design or develops a design code, that this is the standard against which design should be measured in a given area.