Speech to the Prince's Foundation 'Traditional Urbanism'
Conference
Speech by the Deputy Prime Minister to the Prince's Foundation
'Traditional Urbanism' Conference on Thursday 20 November 2003.
Check Against Delivery
Prince Charles, ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be here today.
Thank you for inviting me.
If I may, I would like to congratulate you on hosting this seminar.
You have brought together some of the key thinkers on urban design from
Britain and America. I have spoken to many of our American colleagues on
recent visits to the United States where I have seen 'New Urbanism'
in action.
I am very pleased to see some of my good friends here today and I would
like to thank them for their hospitality.
I would also like to congratulate you on this beautiful building and the
work you do here. You pursue a truly integrated approach - bringing
together architects, artists and planners in a way that stimulates
excitement and innovation.
Your exhibition downstairs will travel the country and help to explain what
can be achieved by applying the principles of new urbanism.
That's exactly the approach to education and training that we need to
see more of. And as I'm sure many of you will know, Sir John Egan is
working on a report for me on how we can help to create sustainable
communities by improving planning, design and craft skills.
Your Royal Highness, I think we share many things in common - and I
don't mean that we're both deputies!
I think we both agree that we need to make the most of our historic assets.
Only government could regard Victorian hospitals, canals and warehouses as
liabilities. Indeed only government could regard the old Admiralty Building
in Whitehall where I now have my office as a liability. But that's
exactly what they did and the old Admiralty lay empty for ten years before
it was restored.
And that's not a one-off. When I inherited responsibility for British
Waterways in 1997 I was told they were a liability costing £100 million a
year.
But how can land and water standing side by side be regarded as a
liability?
So with the help of the Chancellor, we changed the Treasury rules and gave
British Waterways the flexibility to enter into public private partnerships
and turn liabilities into assets.
Today, British Waterways - now a public sector company - is a success
story. It has restored old canals and even built new canals and has been a
major catalyst for regeneration in partnership with private sector
partners.
In Birmingham, for example, the canals are bringing life back into the
heart of the City. Birmingham, like other "motorway" cities,
ignored the warnings of the town planner Colin Buchanan in the 1960s and
handed the city over to the motorcar - smashing motorways through the
centre of the city and forcing pedestrians underground.
Today that is being reversed. They're putting people first. Pedestrians
are being given priority. Historic buildings are being restored. And people
are coming back into the city centre.
Birmingham now has a heart to the city once again and is a joy to visit.
I notice there are photographs of Brindley Place in your new book on urban
villages. Brindley Place shows what we can do when planners are given the
opportunity to plan and city councils take a pro-active approach to
improving the quality of life for their citizens.
We also both agree that we need to bring about a step change in the
standards of planning, design, construction and skills in this country.
Our American colleagues talk about "New Urbanism". Another deputy
- Vice President Al Gore - spoke to me about "liveability".
I prefer to think of "sustainable communities".
Sustainable communities mean good streets, parks and places where people
can meet.
They mean good schools, shops, jobs and services.
They are safe, well managed and maintained.
They include affordable and market housing.
They are well connected by public transport.
In short, they are places where people are proud to live.
That's how you say it in words. Indeed, my department's objective
is "creating sustainable communities".
But what matters isn't just talk. It is practical changes on the
ground. 'Seeing is believing' - as you yourself often say.
That's why Poundbury is so unique. I know that some of our leading
architects have criticised it.
But I also know that it was architects who gave awards to the concrete
monstrosities that were built as homes for ordinary people but which gained
an international bad name as the film set for "A Clock Work
Orange".
Poundbury is important because it puts people before cars.
It shows that places to work and places to live can exist side by side.
It has affordable housing and market housing - and you can't tell the
difference between the two. It is a truly mixed community.
Like any sustainable community, it has transport, shops, schools and health
centres.
And it is a successful community where people are proud to live.
That's not rocket science. But it is revolutionary when we compare it
with many of our modern housing estates.
It's not as if we didn't used to know how to build successful
communities.
Even two thousand years ago the Romans gave us sustainable communities in
Bath, Chester and elsewhere.
Our Georgian towns and cities are the envy of the world.
Garden suburbs like Bedford Park, Bourneville and Port Sunlight were
imitated everywhere.
And garden cities like Letchworth and Welwyn helped give birth to modern
town planning.
But we appear to have lost our way in the last century.
We built huge soulless housing estates with the best intentions. But we
didn't build communities.
That doesn't mean, however, that we have to turn our back on modern
design.
To be successful our towns and cities have to have a sense of place. Good
quality design can do that. Planning can do that. But to create a real
sense of identity, we also need what I call the 'Wow' factor.
Milwaukee has Calatrava's new art museum - a wonderful combination of
architecture and engineering.
People are proud of that - and it certainly has the "wow" factor.
I remember visiting the Pompidou Centre in Paris. It didn't turn me on
but there is no doubt it had the "wow" factor.
Gateshead and Newcastle have Foster's new music centre and the
Millennium Bridge - not only uniting two communities on opposite banks of
the river - but also giving the "wow" factor which people are
proud of.
Birmingham has the new Selfridges designed by Future Systems which together
with the Brindley Place canal development has expanded the heart of
Birmingham.
Clearly people visit the city centre not just to shop but also to see the
buildings and enjoy an urban experience.
And in my own constituency of Hull, Terry Farrell has given us the new
submarium - The Deep - not only an exciting building, but also a wonderful
underwater display which the people of Hull are very proud of.
But it doesn't have to be a building. The Angel of the North and the
London Eye both have the "wow" factor.
Some may not like them but they create a sense of place and a sense of
identity - both features of a living community - which the community
identifies with and which identify the community.
Good architecture should stimulate debate. It is there for everyone to see.
And everyone discusses it.
You only have to listen to people on the train into Liverpool Street
discussing Foster's Gherkin.
I believe passionately in the value of our heritage and the need to
preserve our old buildings.
In the past regeneration has often meant wholesale demolition.
But demolition is not an essential part of regeneration.
That is why I applaud the work of Tom Bloxham and Urban Splash which I saw
when I visited Salford.
Tom has renovated old warehouses and is turning the inside of old terraced
houses upside down to create attractive modern living spaces in a
traditional Victorian house.
That's also why I refused permission for the wholesale demolition of
Victorian terraced housing in Nelson in Lancashire.
But we must also find space for the new, and the bold.
That's why I'm not opposed in principle to new high rise
developments.
They are not appropriate everywhere. And I'm not in favour of stack
'em high, sell 'em cheap commercial towers or housing blocks.
But they have to be built properly and managed properly - unlike many of
our 60s tower blocks.
But where they are well designed and close to public transport they can
have a role and create that 'wow' we need to lift the spirits and
create a sense of place and community.
That's why on Tuesday I granted planning permission for the proposed
London Bridge Tower in Southwark - the Shard of Glass.
I have no doubt it will be controversial.
But I would not have granted permission if the design had not been of the
very highest quality - as I have made clear in my decision letter.
I agree with the planning inquiry Inspector that the Tower will enhance its
proposed setting, as well as bringing clear regeneration benefits to the
Southwark area.
Controversy has always surrounded innovative new buildings.
Just think of St Paul's Cathedral. When it was built more than 300
years ago it was hugely controversial. It was the largest building ever
built in London. It dominated the skyline. And it redefined the whole
concept of cathedral design.
But it certainly has the 'wow factor'. Sometimes that means taking
controversial decisions.
I believe our planners, designers and local authorities need to take a more
pro-active approach to planning and building sustainable communities.
For too long we have looked on our planners as regulators - and that is
what they have become.
They haven't been allowed to plan communities.
They have been trained to respond to applications.
They've worried about where to put the lampposts and about the turning
circle for dustbin lorries.
They have been discouraged from using their creative skills and vision.
Planning has been seen as "boring" - or has been used for
ideological ends. But in fact it is a vital part of improving the quality
of life for our people and an essential tool to create sustainable
communities.
I want to bring more excitement and energy into architecture and planning.
That's why, like at Poundbury, I want to lead by example.
Prince Charles, the publication by your foundation available at this
Conference entitled "Urban Villages and the Making of
Communities" is not only excellent but, if I may say so, you are right
despite your critics - urban villages are the future.
Last year I published the Communities Plan which put in place proposals to
meet the demand for housing in London and the South East as well as deal
with the problems of low demand and regeneration in the North.
Building in the South East is always controversial. But I believe we can
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build better sustainable communities,
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mainly on brownfield sites,
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with a more efficient use of land,
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which will improve our quality of life, and
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provide the homes that are so desperately needed for our children and
grandchildren.
I see no reason why we should deny our children a decent place to live or
fail to provide them with homes close to their families.
Family links are a vital part of any sustainable community. Children
deserve a home just as much as their parents who already have one.
But equally, I see no reason why new communities can not live up to the
highest standards we have achieved in the past.
We've already made a start. We are exceeding our targets for re-using
brownfield land. And we are pushing up the density of new build housing
development.
In the over-crowded South-East, for example, we have increased densities
from 25 to 29 homes per hectare.
But we can do better. Our Georgian towns and cities are built at densities
of up to 80 homes per hectare. And we've more than matched that at
Greenwich Millennium Village.
I want our new communities to have the stamp of the new millennium.
That's why we're reforming planning.
That's why we have set up CABE - the Commission for Architecture and
the Built Environment.
That's why we have the new liveability fund.
And that's why we're developing seven 'Millennium
Communities' in urban and rural areas in different parts of the
country.
Greenwich Millennium Village is already a success - I'm pleased to see
it in your new book. And our Millennium Communities will provide lessons
that can be applied to sustainable communities everywhere.
The greatest opportunity we have to create new communities is the Thames
Gateway where we are aiming to build 120,000 new homes over the next 15
years - 80 per cent of them on brownfield land.
We are moving ahead quickly on this.
So I'm pleased to announce today, that English Partnerships and Bellway
Homes are forming an ambitious joint venture to take forward development of
the largest brownfield site in London, at Barking Reach on the north bank
of the Thames Estuary.
This scheme will create a series of new communities linking Barking town
centre with the riverside. Altogether there will be more than ten thousand
new homes - a new sustainable community with affordable and market
accommodation.
Both partners will share in the investment costs - and the profits. It will
be the first public private partnership of its kind.
And it's just a start.
In North Kent we will see the creation of Ebbsfleet, a new town with around
25,000 new homes on the site of the derelict chalk quarries around the new
international Channel Tunnel station.
We are planning ten thousand new homes on the Greenwich peninsula next to
the Dome in addition to the 1,400 in the Millennium Village.
And there will be a further ten thousand in Ashford based on the Channel
Tunnel Rail Link.
But these communities will only work - will only be sustainable - if we
take a pro-active approach to master planning and design.
They present huge opportunities.
To make the most of these, I will shortly be publishing revised guidance to
planning authorities to modernise the 1947 Planning Act and put sustainable
development at the heart of the planning system.
Our architects, planners, developers and local authorities must rise to
this challenge if we are to bring about the step change we need.
That is why I visited Florida last month to learn from what has been
achieved at Seaside. I know Seaside has been criticised for going 'back
to the future' and for being a holiday village rather than a working
community.
But the use of masterplanning and urban coding in Seaside has a lot to
offer here in Britain. I'm not talking about colonial style houses.
I'm talking about how to produce an attractive, well planned
environment quickly and efficiently.
I believe that urban coding - or 'Community coding' as I would
prefer to call it - has a lot to offer.
It is the approach we have used for a development we have been working on
since the last time we shared a platform in 1998.
That was at St James's Palace, when I was Secretary of State at DETR.
We had a discussion about how to plan for more sustainable development at
the edges of our towns.
After the conference, we worked together with English Partnerships and the
Prince's Foundation to see whether we could apply the principles of
'Community coding' to a site at Upton, on the western edge of
Northampton.
A series of collaborative planning workshops took place with the local
council and other key stakeholders. That led to a new masterplan, with
housing, shops, workplaces, a school, a park and other facilities, brought
together to form a new urban neighbourhood.
That plan, for 1,200 new homes, has now been worked into a detailed urban
code. I am encouraged to see that it is one of the case studies at the back
of your new book.
And today I'm pleased to announce that English Partnerships has
selected the preferred developer for the first phase of this innovative
project.
The winner - Shenley Lodge - was chosen from a shortlist of five
developers, and a start on site is due very shortly.
And if there are any sceptical developers in the audience - take note,
outline consent was approved by Northampton Council in just six weeks.
I want to see this approach adopted in other places. Coding can produce the
regularity of a London square or the variety of Seaside.
Instead of spending money on lawyers and planning inquiries, developers can
spend it on planning and design - and everyone benefits.
I will therefore shortly announce a range of additional measures and sites
to help bring about the use of 'Community coding' more widely.
I have also asked CABE to become involved in this work. Building on the
excellent and extensive work they have already done to help improve
standards, they will help us in looking at a system for accrediting
developers and sites, using 'Community coding'.
We need to work with, and learn from, the best the world has to offer.
The best practitioners; the best thinkers; the best architects; the best
planners; the best projects.
That's why I have also decided to build on the success of last
year's Urban Summit in Birmingham with a new Sustainable Communities
Summit to be held on 19th and 20th October next year.
I want to use that Summit to maintain the momentum and spread the message
about high quality design and sustainable communities in both urban and
rural areas.
I want to bring back a sense of civic pride.
That means good strong local government.
Modern communities with a strong sense of place.
It means good local schools, healthcare, employment, public transport and
leisure facilities.
We need places where people want to live.
Where a new generation will grow up and look at their communities with
pride.
That means a step change in planning and housing.
It means a new self-confidence in our town planning and a fresh approach to
urban design. It needs to be pro-active planning - not red tape and
regulation.
I believe there's an appetite for change.
For good quality urban living.
For high quality new suburbs.
And for rural communities which provide homes for people who need them.
Much of this is plain common sense.
It's about looking at what works.
It's about taking the best from our past, and adapting it to new needs.
I believe the Prince of Wales and I share these goals in common.
I am very pleased to share the platform with you today.
You have done so much to make people aware of the built environment and
demand a better quality of design for the future.
I believe your contribution to the debate has raised the level of
expectation of the public and the quality of architecture, design and
planning.
Speech by the Deputy Prime Minister on Thursday 20 November
2003
