Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission

Monday 22 February 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government have established the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission to champion beauty in the built environment.
  • The Government have published a comprehensive response to the report and are implementing the vast majority of its recommendations.
  • My Department stands ready to support local councils to produce high-quality, compelling and locally popular design codes through pilot initiatives.

Questions & Answers

Q1 Simon Fell
Context

The Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission has released a final report focusing on the importance of preserving and enhancing local heritage through well-designed buildings.

Question

What response his Department has made to the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission's final report?

Answer from Robert Jenrick (Cabinet Office Minister)

The Government have established the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission to champion beauty in the built environment. We have published a comprehensive response to the report and are implementing the vast majority of its recommendations. This includes embedding the principle of beauty in the planning system for the first time since it was created; publishing a new national model design code so that communities can demand well-designed local buildings; and establishing a fast track for beauty, where individuals and good-quality builders can see high-quality developments proceed at pace.

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Q2 Simon Fell
Context

There are several exciting developments in Furness, including Hartley's Brewery in Ulverston and Salthouse sands in Barrow, which aim to celebrate local history.

Question

How best can those developers engage with my right hon. Friend's Department to ensure that they meet the proposed standards?

Answer from Robert Jenrick (Cabinet Office Minister)

The developer community should engage with our national model design code, and local councils should bring forward their own version. My Department stands ready, with our new place unit, to support local councils to produce high-quality, compelling and locally popular design codes. We will be piloting that over the course of the year—perhaps his local council might like to be one of the pilot areas.

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