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Housing and Regeneration Bill

I want to deal briefly with some amendments in the group. I particularly welcome the amendments that introduce—for the first time, I believe—the duty on authorities to have regard for ““good design””. We have needed that for a very long time. So many housing developments are, at best, bland; and some are the product of obviously lazy initiatives by the developer, whether it be a private company or a statutory body. All too often, the design comes off a shelf—a shelf on which design has not been reviewed for many a year. I believe that it is possible at minimal cost to unlock the talent among people capable of designing quality housing. Housing can be aesthetically pleasing and it is extremely important to be aware of it. Even in hitherto poor, working-class areas, original design can make a great statement of confidence for the future. Local communities are interested in that, as it is one aspect of building a sense of community, which Government Departments are also trying to promote. I do not wish to exaggerate, but this is important. I do not suppose that it will be possible to get judicial review when a bland housing development is produced, but it will henceforth be a duty on the Homes and Communities Agency, as well as on local authorities, to be cognisant of the need for good design. I hope that, gradually, we will be able to build up the quality of design and take heed of aesthetics and the attractiveness of buildings. That will also be a good statement for this generation of planners. In my view, not enough has been done to move on since the 1960s and 1970s. I also want to deal with the amendments that have most preoccupied the House. Over the past four or five years, my local authority area has endured many of the provisions that are proposed as suitable for the HCA. Some years ago, the House passed an order that created the Thurrock urban development corporation, which took away many planning functions from the local authority. As a Member of Parliament, that caused me a dilemma. I believe in local authority and local decision-making on planning issues, planning applications and proposed developments, but on the other hand, I want the Government to achieve their legitimate aspirations to produce a good reservoir of low-cost housing to rent or buy and to create some prestigious housing, too. That attracts remuneration to a local authority area in the form of high council taxes and other incomes derived from quality and high-value residential development. Social mix is another desirable outcome. I was persuaded that we needed this power, which is why I support the amendments this evening. If the Government are determined to drive through their housing construction policy throughout England, where housing supply is desperately needed for our constituents, the amendments are necessary. In the light of my experience over the past few years of planning powers being transferred from the local authority to another body—the urban development corporation in my case, and the HCA under the amendments—I urge the Minister and his new chief executive Kerslake not to use the local authority as the handling agents. It seems to me that all the chemistry in that regard produces frustration of the Government's objectives, and a dilemma for the local authority officers as to which master they serve. If the planning functions are to be dealt with by a committee of the HCA or an urban development corporation, they should receive and process the applications and send the letter consulting the authority; the local authority should not process those applications, as it is an inevitable cause of frustration and an added level of bureaucracy. I offer that advice to the Minister and through him to the HCA chief executive. If planning powers are to be designated and transferred from the local authority to another body, it should be done not just by use class order or according to the size and scale of the proposed development—the number of hectares or residential units—but by geographical area. Development control and enforcement are indivisible from the wider picture. Although the HCA might not want to get involved in what it might consider nitty-gritty issues, all too often enforcement is the other side of the coin of planning development. If we want to create a good housing development, but an industry is non-conforming or arguably has not got planning permission, enforcement action or relocation by the HCA or its committee and by the local authority go at different speeds. There is a danger that the lines will be blurred and objectives will not be achieved. I am prepared to elaborate on the matter, with the Minister and whomever he likes, following the experience of the Thurrock urban development corporation, which was, and still is, a good idea, but has been frustrated by a lack of clarity as to who has what powers and the division of loyalties among the officials and professional staff between it and the local authority.