Memorandum submitted by RIBA
THE RIBA IN
THE REGIONS
The Royal Institute of British Architect's mission
is to advance architecture by demonstrating the benefit of good
design to society and promoting excellence in the profession.
At a regional level, the RIBA engages in a number
of activities and works in partnership with a range of stakeholders
from the public, private and voluntary sectors. The built environment
has a real and important influence on social and economic factors
and as such the RIBA engages with a diverse range of stakeholders
including built environment professions, local planning authorities,
and other regional, sub-regional and local bodies with a remit
for sustainable communities.
DESIGN, SPATIAL
PLANNING AND
THE ECONOMY
Good design and architecture has a real impact
on the economy and society with benefits to health, education,
safety, employment and other socio-economic factors[212]
As widely recognised, well designed places with
high quality housing, accessible transport links, employment opportunities
and other sound infrastructure such as educational and health
facilities attract and retain people to cities, regions and localities.
High quality and design and architecture is fundamental to this,
aiding a good lifestyle and instilling a sense of civic pride.
ROLE OF
RDAS IN
DESIGN
The RIBA welcome the Businesses and Enterprise
inquiry into the role of RDAs and implications the SNR may have
on that role. At the regional level, we want to see the RDAs take
a proactive role and lead for design quality and further the links
between spatial planning and the delivery of sustainable communities
through:
RIBA recommendations
1. Design review at all levels. The RDA
should explore (with partners) how to further the use of and development
of regional and local design reviews[213]
Local Areas Agreements (LAA) and Multi Area Agreement (MAA) initiatives
should be subject to design review as are regional economic strategy
initiatives. This will help ensure design quality is embedded
at all levels and by local authorities.
2. Design champions on the RDA Board (a
continuation of this role from the Regional Assemblies).
3. Consult and engage with local and regional
built environment, design and other stakeholders/groups of stakeholders
to inform policy and delivery.
4. Explore mechanisms to ensure local authorities
embed design quality including:
(a) design quality training for planning officers
and members;
(b) run local and sub-regional design review
panels (as above);
(c) ensure spatial planning and sustainable communities
agenda is properly integrated at the local and sub-regional level.
Ensure LSPs/Multi-Area Strategic Partnerships work collaboratively
with planners (who have an understanding of design quality) through
the process of developing LDFs.
5. RDAs to have a duty to consider design
quality (similar to that of the new Homes and Communities
Agency).
The RIBA will explore the need for architects
and other design professionals to work alongside planners in engaging
with LSPs and for RIBA staff members to be part of LSPs themselves.
SUB NATIONAL
REVIEW AND
IMPLICATIONS ON
THE RDA: OPPORTUNITIES
The RIBA believe that there are positive implications
for the role of the RDAs in championing and implementing design
quality. There are clear opportunities and potentially huge benefits
of integrating the remits of the Regional Assemblies (RA) and
the Regional Development Agencies (RDA), not only for purposes
of efficiency but also due to the interrelationship between economic
and social progress and sustainability and the role that spatial
planning must play in both these elements. We provide recommendations
below for utilising such opportunities.
Spatial planning and community regeneration
The RDA should take a lead in encouraging and
supporting LSPs to engage with the process of developing Local
Development Frameworks. There is a crucial link between the work
of the LSPs and the outcomes in the LAAs and the work of planners
and the outcome of the LDFs. If these links are successfully made,
the strive for social and economic sustainability (as featured
in the LAAs) will be properly supported and delivered by spatial
planning (sustainable communities being fundamental to spatial
planning[214]).
Spatial planning is a key mechanism to tackling
root causes of social problems. Examples of the links between
the LAA outcomes (which should reflect the Sustainable Community
Strategy objectives) and planning are[215]:
— LAA outcome: Health and Wellbeing.
Planning Contribution: parks, recreation and sports provision,
access to good and services, strong economies and access to employment,
design.
— LAA outcome: Safer Communities.
Planning Contribution: landscaping, transport, design.
— LAA outcome. Vibrant and Sustainable
Neighborhoods. Planning Contribution: housing and design,
transport, safe and green environments, school provision and design.
— LAA outcome. Economic Development.
Planning Contribution: availability of employment sites and access,
transport, housing design and location, energy provision, access
to goods and services, social and environmental infrastructure.
— LAA outcome. Social Inclusion.
Planning Contribution: housing quality, design and provision,
transport, equal access to good and services.
— LAA outcome. Combating Climate
Change. Planning Contribution: Transport, recycling, housing
design and renewal, access to good and services, transport.
For all LAA outcomes, good quality design of
the built environment is crucial to their success.
A collaboration between LSPs and planners will
help ensure these issues are integrated and LSPs (and other stakeholders)
are more informed by planning "evidence" with a spatial
and environmental understanding for setting their objectives.
Collaboration will help provide planners with a better understanding
of other service-delivery agencies and objectives and reflecting
this in local planning[216].
RIBA Recommendation
6. RDA (and GOs) to encourage LSPs to engage
with the process of developing Local Development Frameworks—spatial
planning being a delivery mechanism of LAAs.
7. RDA to support planners (with an understanding
of design quality) to engage and work with LSPs/Multi Strategic
Partnerships sharing "evidence" on planning issues and
community needs.
Sub-regional- context
We welcome the recognition in the SNR for sub-regional
and intra-regional working. The Multi Area Agreements (MAAs) should
form an important delivery mechanism. We believe these should
also reflect and integrate spatial planning, a lead taken by the
RDA (as discussed above).
Planning at a sub-regional level is crucial
if the national and regional strategies are to be effective[217].
The sub-regions have identifiable and distinct spatial dimensions—economic
development and the city regions; housing markets and cross boundary
supply; transport networks and the nature of travel to work. Aligning
policy and implementation is crucial to reflect sub-regional dimensions,
such as strengthening policy to ensure the adequate delivery of
housing supply. Fundamental in improving the economic performance
of sub-regions and city regions is the spatial planning and social
dimension to strategies. We note here that successful spatial
planning requires good quality architecture and design.
Structures will need to be put in place to support
local authorities and LSPs to work collaboratively. We believe
that this should be formalised and support proposals to make this
a statutory relationship. We would caution against a statutory
relationship preventing flexibility and allowing for membership
to expand and change.
The consultation documentation Prosperous
Places[218],
made no mention of the duty to consider sub-regional work
(as currently held by the RA). We believe that this duty should
be transferred to the RDA.
RIBA Recommendation
8. We would like to see the RDA have a duty
to consider sub-regional work. As part of this, RDA to support
local authorities' collaboration at a sub-regional level.
SUB NATIONAL
REVIEW AND
IMPLICATIONS ON
THE RDA: CHALLENGES
For these opportunities to be realised (described
above) however, the RIBA believes there needs to be certain factors
in place that ensures representative, informed and accountable
decision making and implementation. We give an outline of our
concerns below and provide recommendations to address these.
Decision making and accountability
It is essential that regional stakeholders (including
the public) are able to influence the decision-making of the RDA.
The integrated regional strategies must be properly informed to
accurately reflect the regions—the people's needs, aspirations
and lifestyles.
The RDA, as proposed in the Prosperous Places
consultation document, would essentially be able to choose whom
to engage and listen to bypassing those it did not, being answerable
only to the Secretary of State
We have concerns that the role of the Local
Leaders' Forum as envisioned would fail to provide scrutiny of
the RDA and would not provide that crucial community engagement
at that level.
Local Leaders' Forum
With limited powers, the proposed LA Leaders'
Forum will act only as a consultative group whose comments can
easily be discarded. The Forum will have no statutory powers to
scrutinise the work of the RDA as does the RA and as such the
RDA will have little responsibility to engage with and listen
to the Leaders' Forum.
In addition, the ability to scrutinise is further
undermined by local authorities being potential recipients of
RDA funding.
We believe that with limited powers and time
constraints, the Leaders' Forum will be poorly attended, or fail
to attract the necessary caliber of representative necessary to
overcome its shortcomings.
Stakeholder representation
Fundamentally, the proposed Forum also lacks
the crucial component of stakeholder representation (the latter
making up a third of the RA governance).
Regional stakeholder groups are an important
way to ensure a wider range of expertise informs the process of
decision-making on a number of important and relevant issues such
as housing, architecture and design, environment, engineering,
equality, and employment. This will:
— help ensure that regional strategies
take account of theses issues and the intricate disparities within
regions as stakeholder organisations working close to the community
are well placed to appreciate.
— aid strategic thinking by Local Authorities
by raising understanding and awareness of these cross-cutting
issues.
RIBA Recommendation
9. Proposals as described in Prosperous
Places consultation document should be reviewed to ensure
a forum is accountable, representative and influential.
10. The legislation should require the RDA
to agree with a representative "forum" of stakeholders
based on social, environmental and economic remits for sign-off
of the intergrated regional strategy alongside the LA Leaders'
Forum.
Stakeholder engagement
While the importance of stakeholder engagement
is recognised throughout the consultation document, and is to
be welcomed, this needs to go beyond consultation and include
influence, negotiation and agreement. How the RDA engages stakeholders
will need to be determined in agreement with stakeholders themselves.
RIBA Recommendation
11. The RDA will need to undertake a process
of understanding the stakeholders in the region and explore with
them how best to engage them in meaningful ways
In addition, there is a need for a collective
voice for stakeholders. Regions benefit from the ability of stakeholder
representative groups to identify cross-sectoral interests and
where possible resolve any apparent differences of view before
engaging with regional agencies such as the RDA. Whilst this does
not prevent the different sectors from engaging the RDA separately,
it increases efficiency in the overall stakeholder engagement
process. The RDAs will need to recognise and support the development
of existing stakeholder groups (including those currently linked
to the RAs).
RIBA Recommendation
12. RDA to understand, utilise and support
the development of existing stakeholder networks in the region
19 September 2008
212 CABE. The Value of good design: How buildings and
spaces create economic and social value. www.cabe.org.uk Back
213
A design review panel is a group of design experts who regularly
assess development schemes. Design review panels do not make decisions
on planning applications but advise those who do. The deliberations
and recommendations of a panel should help the planning department
come to an informed decision on a project. Comments are given
without prejudice, and enable developers and planners to develop
a positive dialogue about their respective aspirations for the
urban environment. Back
214
The new spatial planning system is tasked to deliver positive
social, economic and environmental outcomes, and requires planners
to actively collaborate with the wide range of stakeholders and
agencies that help to shape local areas and deliver local services.
Local authorities being seen to have a role as "place shapers".
RTPI.2007.Planning Together. Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs)
and Spatial Planning: a practical guide. Back
215
RTPI.2007.Planning Together. Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs)
and Spatial Planning: a practical guide. pg 11 Back
216
ibid Back
217
CLG. 2008.Planning and Optimal Geographical Levels for Economic
Decision Making-the Sub-Regional Role. Back
218
Prosperous Places (BERR & DCLG) March 2008 http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file45468.pdf Back
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