RIBA BuildaBetterCampaign News, General Election Manifesto Responses, Architecture

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Royal Institute of British Architects: UK General Election 2015 Manifesto Responses

7 May 2015

General Election Manifesto Responses Related to Architecture

Election 2015: Building a Better Britain

BuildaBetterCampaign – Election 2015

The 2015 General Election is set to be close with wide-ranging challenges for the next government.

RIBA Building, 66 Portland Place London, England, UK – design by architect George Grey Wornum:

photograph : Adrian Welch

Construction, housing, infrastructure, planning are key areas that can help the economy grow, and make places and spaces better for living, working, playing, and doing business.

RIBA Response to Conservative Party’s 2015 General Election Manifesto

The RIBA has responded to the launch of the Conservative Party’s 2015 General Election Manifesto. Discussing the issues of Housing, Planning, Schools Building and Flood Defences – all key components of the RIBA’s #BuildaBetterBritain Campaign – RIBA President Stephen Hodder said:

On Housing:

‘It is vital that the pressure to tackle the housing crisis doesn’t lead to sub-standard homes. The RIBA supports the principle of more low cost homes on brownfield sites but high quality design and infrastructure are essential if these homes are to meet the needs of communities now and in the future.’

On Planning:

‘The next Government should review the National Policy and Planning Framework (NPPF) to ensure that it balances both economic sustainability and social and environmental factors. We remain deeply concerned by the loss of expertise from local authority planning teams and its impact on the quality of new developments.’

On Schools Building:

‘We hope that the Conservative’s commitment to school funding will enable improvements to the quality of the UK’s school buildings. We face a growing shortage of school places, and 80% of our school buildings are in poor condition, failing the students and teachers trying to learn and teach in them. Well-designed buildings improve well-being and cut maintenance costs – vital to the long-term future of the UK’s education system.’

On Flood Defences:

‘We welcome the party’s announcement that they will build 1,400 new flood defences. However, we need to go further. The next Government should provide real security for communities in areas affected by flooding by introducing legislation committing successive UK governments to build flooding resilience as a strategic priority for the long-term. There should also be a guarantee that new homes won’t be built on flood plains.’

Website : RIBA Response to Conservative Party’s 2015 General Election Manifesto

RIBA Response to Labour Party’s 2015 General Election Manifesto

The RIBA responded to the launch of the Labour Party’s 2015 General Election Manifesto. Discussing the issues of Housing, Planning, Schools Building and Flood Defences – all key components of the RIBA’s #BuildaBetterCampaign – the RIBA President Stephen Hodder said:

On Housing:

‘We welcome the idea that homes should be built where people want to live and shape their communities. The RIBA believes that, to deliver truly affordable housing, the Government needs to remove the Local Authority borrowing cap on Housing Revenue Account receipts.’

On Planning:

‘The Next Government should review the National Policy Planning Framework to ensure that it balances the tennets of sustainability. In particular we need to see stronger guidance on viability negotiations to tackle the delays in the current system.’

On Schools Building:

‘Labour’s commitment to protect the schools budget must be accompanied by an acknowledgement of the need to invest in the UK’s schools estate. We face a growing shortage of school places, and 80% of our school buildings are in poor condition, failing the students and teachers trying to learn and teach in them. Well-designed buildings improve well-being and cut maintenance costs – vital to the long-term future of the UK’s education system.’

On Flood Defences:

‘The next Government should provide real security for communities in areas affected by flooding by introducing legislation committing successive UK governments to build flooding resilience as a strategic priority over the next 100 years. We welcome Labour’s commitments to prioritise investment in flood prevention to better protect communities.’

Website : RIBA Response to Labour Party’s’s 2015 General Election Manifesto

RIBA Response to Liberal Democrat Party’s 2015 General Election Manifesto

The RIBA has responded to the launch of the Liberal Democrat Party’s 2015 General Election Manifesto. Discussing the issues of Housing, Planning, Schools Building, Flooding and Energy Efficiency – all key components of the RIBA’s #BuildaBetterBritain Campaign – the RIBA Executive Director of Communication & Outreach, Gill Webber, said:

On Housing:

‘It is vital that the target of building 300,000 new homes doesn’t just become a focus on numbers. Good quality houses and effective infrastructure are vital to support new developments – whether we’re talking about garden cities or small sites in rural communities.’

On Planning:

‘The desire to empower Local Authorities to collaboratively drive developments is welcomed, but the next Government should review the National Planning Policy Framework to ensure that it balances policies that support development with a need to build strong, sustainable communities.’

On Schools Building:

‘We face a growing shortage of school places, and 80% of our school buildings are in poor condition, failing the students and teachers trying to learn and teach in them. Well-designed buildings improve well-being and cut maintenance costs – vital to the long-term future of the UK’s education system. We hope that any future Government will maintain a focus on capital school funding.’

On Flooding:

‘We welcome the commitment to develop a fit for purpose approach which takes into account the importance of high construction and planning standards for water resilient building design – a key element of the RIBA’s Build a Better Britain campaign. The next Government should introduce legislation that identifies flooding resilience as a strategic priority for successive parliaments.’

On Energy Efficiency:

‘We welcome the party’s ambitious energy efficiency plans for the built environment. The RIBA believes that this will be best achieved through a national retrofit strategy for all building types that aligns existing retrofit policies and other related Government initiatives.’

Website : RIBA Response to Liberal Democrat Party’s 2015 General Election Manifesto

RIBA Response to 2015 General Election Manifestos information from RIBA

RIBA Building, London, by architect George Grey Wornum

Location: UK