Building back better and building beautiful have to be grounded in ‘genius loci’ – the spirit and harmony of the places and localities in which we are creating well-designed homes and delivering the vital infrastructure to renew or create strong communities. Beyond homes themselves, the discretionary decisions made in local policy around the public realm cast long shadows in determining the character of places, potentially for generations.
Our placemaking workstream seeks to examine the role of housing and infrastructure in promoting opportunity and prosperity, the role of investment in leading renewal and the role of planning in creating successful and sustainable communities.
Context and case for innovation of local strategic procurement In the context of an evolving public procurement landscape, local authorities in England are grappling with multiple challenges and opportunities. An increasing strategic turn in procurement is being reflected by legislative reforms, notably the pending Procurement Bill, which aims to simplify and modernise the system. Concurrently, […]
Driven by the dynamics of a new political cycle, we are on the edge of a major shift in how we shape our built environment, set our economic ambitions, create inclusive place ambitions and deliver local public services. This sea change will shift the paradigm of place-based provision for the next decade as all the […]
In the context of a national housing crisis, soaring global temperatures and sluggish productivity growth, the next political cycle is likely to be characterised by the vexing problem of improving the public realm in a situation of parlous public finances. Recent crises have left the state with very little fiscal headroom, yet the political and […]
As a word, consent derives ultimately from the Latin verb consentīre which means “to share or join in a sensation or feeling, be in unison or harmony. But when it comes to creating a sense of harmony in our localities, regions, and with an eye to the next general election, that sense of national unity, how, at […]
Across Britain, pubs have long stood as familiar and welcoming landmarks. Their significance goes beyond mere watering holes; they have consistently played a pivotal role in knitting communities together and promoting social cohesion. Inn-valuable looks at the value of pubs – to society and to the economy – looking at both first-hand evidence and a […]
The Government has recognised the benefits that second homes and short-term holiday lettings can bring to local economies and to the tourism sector in terms of increasing consumer choice and distributing tourism across the country. At the same time, the adverse effect that large numbers of second homes can have on some areas has been […]
Perhaps the greatest of the myriad challenges facing local government is the continued delivery of local public services against the headwinds of rising inflation and inexorable demographic pressures. With the dozen missions outlined in the Levelling Up White Paper due to be enshrined in law, and all relying on not just the upkeep but the […]
This short report is part of our ongoing series on the construction of a Local Resilience Act. As climate shifts worldwide, councils across England are being hit by increasingly extreme weather patterns including violent storm surges, unbearable temperatures, and widespread flooding. At the level of place, our local authorities are best situated to understand and […]
Council finances are in a precarious position. Wound tightly from the time of the astringencies of the 2010 spending review, to the limited protections that saw the sector through the Covid years, the principal cogs of local government finance – property taxes, commercial revenue, fees and charges, capital expenditure and grant funding, are clearly out […]
Just short of 250,000 new council homes were built in 1953. Housing minister Harold MacMillan permitted local authorities to build as many homes as there were applicants on the waiting list. The last year in which the current target of 300,000 homes was exceeded was in 1969, when 307,000 homes were completed: with the help […]