Issue - meetings

- Gordon Smith, Specialist Support Manager

(see booklet)

Gordon Smith, Housing Solutions Officers, gave a powerpoint presentation on Delivering Design Quality.

It sought to assess the quality of housing schemes by applying the Building for Life standard, the aim being to have houses that were well built, well designed, affordable, sustainable and for all groups of society.  Building for Life posed 20 questions about residential developments based on the 5 themes of character, roads, parking and congestion, design and construction and environment and the community.

Delivering Design Quality was sponsored by a partnership between Transform South Yorkshire, the Home Builders Federation, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and the 4 South Yorkshire local authorities.

To address issues of poor design quality in new residential developments, which had been highlighted in a nationwide audit by CABE, TSY had made some funding available in the current year to establish a Home Builders Advisory Panel and a Design Enabling Panel.  The Design Enabling Panel targeted members, officers and the public sector generally to look at raising the profile of design and to start spreading awareness of design issues and skills throughout the public sector, starting with local authorities.

One of the key drivers, if approved for next year, would be the Innovation fund which would provide gap funding.  Private developers and Housing Associations should be able to bid for gap funding up to £6,000 to address particular design added value.

Agreed:-  That the report be noted.