Committee on the Built Environment open inquiry with evidence from experts on planning and design
The new House of Lords Committee on National Policy for the Built Environment will tomorrow open its inquiry and hold its first public evidence session by taking evidence from experts specialising in planning and design.
The Committee, chaired by Baroness O'Cathain, will hear from:
- Professor Rachel Cooper OBE, Professor of Design Management, Lancaster University
- Dr Richard Simmons, former Chief Executive of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE)
- Professor Mark Tewdwr-Jones, Professor of Town Planning, Newcastle University
The evidence session will start at 10:45am on Thursday 9 July in Committee Room 2 of the House of Lords.
Areas the session is expected to cover include:
- What are the main built environment challenges we are currently facing and how might these change? Does demographic change present a particular challenge?
- What will the legacy be of the last 30 years of commercial and residential developments?
- How can we ensure new buildings respect their environment and help to foster communities?
- How effective are we at rejuvenating existing housing developments? Should there be more focus on ‘retrofitting' existing buildings rather than focusing on new builds?
- Why does the UK consistently fall so far short of meeting its targets on house building completions?
