The Housing Forum member event – supported by BPTW

Design codes are becoming an increasingly important part of planning new development in England.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 requires all local authorities to create a design code for their area to help fast-track the delivery of beautiful, sustainable and locally popular housing.

In this Learning at Lunchtime webinar, we will:

- Learn about the national policy context on Design Codes, and cover some key lessons learned nationally from the government’s Design Code Pathfinder project ,

- Offer practical guidance for any local authorities embarking on their own design codes

- Using a case study from the Chatham Centre Design Code, explore the delivery of design code principles through the planning process on new housing-led developments

Speakers:-

-Jenny Thomas – Head of Policy, Office for Place

Jenny is responsible for the delivery of the work programme of the Office for Place, a new arms-length body set-up by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to help create beautiful, healthy, successful and enduring places that foster a sense of community, local pride and belonging. Jenny has a PhD in the psychology of the built environment and has previously worked for an architectural practice and ran her own consultancy, specialising in evidence-based design.

- Scott Elliott Adams, Urban Design Director – BPTW Scott is Director of Urban Design at BPTW, formerly facilitated the delivery of the National Model Design Code Testing Programme at DLUHC and is leading on the creation of Design Codes for three local authorities across the South East.

- Duncan Berntsen – Senior Urban Design Officer, Medway CouncilDuncan acts as the Senior Urban Design Officer within the planning service across Medway, co-leading a team of specialists responsible for the products of planning. He led Medway Council’s delivery of the Chatham Centre Design Code, now being adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document.

Learning at Lunchtime webinar - Design Codes