Design Council launched a national consultation on the future of National Design Review, Local Design Review, and related design support. The announcement came on the first day that the Design Council officially merged with CABE and adopted its independent charitable status.
The consultation, which will run from April to June, will elicit a wide range of industry views to assess how best to drive high-quality design at the heart of regeneration, renewal and community planning. It will inform a root and branch review of CABE services, which will include recommendations of new market models for design reviews and design support that meets the needs of the public and communities in the UK.
The review will be authored by Peter Bishop, visiting professor in Architecture and the Built Environment at Nottingham Trent University and until recently the Group Director of Design, Development and Environment at the LDA.
The UK-wide consultation will engage a wide range of professions and sectors including architecture, planning, surveying, landscape, housing developers, construction industry and others. It will be supported by an external Advisory Group, which will act as a sounding board to ensure the consultation is as comprehensive and effective as possible within the time period available.
Chaired by Paul Finch, the Advisory Group will offer connections to different parts of the sector to ensure that diverse views are expressed, and provide guidance and expert input. An in-house expert support team will include the new Design Council CABE Director of Design, Diane Haigh.
"Design Reviews and other forms of support such as enabling within local communities are an essential component of the planning and development system," said David Kester, Chief Executive of the Design Council. "There is a bedrock of experience and knowledge across the sector that we can build on for the future, and it's essential that we do so. This consultation is a rare opportunity to listen to people's opinions and suggestions, and create a system that is truly responsive to the needs of our communities, economy and changing planning system."