---

Lord Lucas moved Amendment No. 135:

After Clause 43, insert the following new clause—

"Designs and masterplans
In the principal Act after section 54A (status of development plans) there is inserted the following new section—
"54B MERIT OF APPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
In determining any application for planning permission for development, special regard is to be had to the merit of any design, masterplan or permitted drawings which have been submitted in connection with any existing permission for development on the application site.""

The noble Lord said: My Lords, this amendment picks up a point that was discussed briefly in Committee but was not the subject of a separate amendment. I have attempted to devise an amendment to deal with the matter. The principal problem arises where a planning application is submitted and agreed with a fine design from, for example, the Richard Rogers Partnership but, when it comes to be built, it is the subject of a second planning permission with no architect at all—just something put together by the builders. The whole project may have been greatly degraded, but the planning authority feels that, as it has granted permission for a development consisting of that number of houses and, apart from their design, the houses will be pretty much the same, it has no leg to stand on in arguing with the change of design.

I hope that that will be ironed out under the proposals that we are to consider on Third Reading. It is not an everyday abuse, but it is sufficiently common to have been given the name within the profession of "trophy architecture". So it is an abuse that has clearly gained some currency. I hope that, when we read the Government's proposals, that will be dealt with along with the other difficulties that face authorities that want to ensure good design in their areas. I beg to move.

Baroness Maddock: My Lords, my name is attached to this amendment. It highlights an issue that my noble friend Lord Greaves mentioned in Committee. He gave us a graphic description of what had happened in a town in Lancashire where the local authority had gone to a lot of trouble to achieve a really good design. For whatever reason, that then fell out of the equation and the application was taken up by someone else and something entirely unsatisfactory—nothing like the original proposal—was built. So the issue is important.

When the Minister presents his proposals on Third Reading for writing design principles into the Bill, I hope that they will cover all the different stages. The Government have been positive in what they have said, but I did not receive a clear answer in response to my previous amendment when I asked whether they will address that at every stage. The stage that we are discussing is especially important, as the example cited by my noble friend Lord Greaves demonstrated and as the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, just said.

Baroness Hanham: My Lords, I have been thinking about this issue recently as we faced problems in my borough. Let us suppose that designs are put forward

1 Mar 2004 : Column 526

for planning permission by one developer and that that developer has an architect; however, the developer decides not to proceed with the same planning application, and another developer decides to take it on. The question is whether those plans and designs are transferable to the new developer, and whether the new developer is bound by the design of an architect whom he might otherwise not have employed.

My view is that one ought to do exactly what the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, said, which is, "That's the plan; that's the design; you build it". But when it passes to another developer, I am not sure what powers there are to enforce that. We might be able to put that into the Bill. But I am still not certain that we could force a developer to take up the plans of another architect to develop the scheme.

I am not disagreeing with that; I think that it is very meritorious and extremely sensible. I am merely looking at the practical implications of how one can do it.

Baroness Hamwee: My Lords, I do not know whether it would be possible to condition the original application, but even if it were, would it be proper to do so? I think that the noble Baroness alluded to that. Perhaps the discussion takes us back to the need for good design and a requirement for good design principles to be followed, which should be written in at the earliest possible stage. If that were written in at the start, there would be something objective so that if a switch took place, there would be a principle to be complied with. That would help local authorities which may not have pinned down the details of the first application to which they can stick if someone comes along with a substitute.

Lord Marlesford: My Lords, I support my noble friend Lord Lucas on this hugely important point. It is one of the tragedies of this country that for several decades of the latter part of the previous century some appalling developments and building took place. One of the aspects on which I want to focus—although I am not sure whether my noble friend's amendment covers it—is the importance of the material to be used, which is as important as the actual design. It will be unfortunate if a splendid scheme that has been submitted by a distinguished and caring architect for a patron who wishes to put up something of real quality falls and lapses, and a subsequent developer does not have anything like the same motivation, but tries to piggy-back on that earlier application to a much lower standard of design and materials. I hope that the Bill will ensure that increasing attention will be paid to design and materials for both private and public buildings—non-residential office buildings, and so on.

We have discussed the issue already, but the amendment brings it out. Again, one cannot resist referring to the United States, where I travel every year, particularly the downtown areas of American cities. In general, the quality of office buildings especially is streets ahead of what we have in this country, although not in every case. My noble friend is on to something really important. The Bill should be

1 Mar 2004 : Column 527

used to ensure that we do not have the kind of shoddy buildings that were put up in the latter part of the previous century.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Marlesford, raised a very valid point. From looking at major developments in my home city, it seems that we often accept designs that we would not consider in a better world. But because of the framework within which planning considerations take place, it is difficult to establish benchmarks and principles, and so forth.

Time and again, the issue that arose was that there was a very useful, good, virgin site within the confines of the city centre. Because of the financial atmosphere in which the development was proposed a mega-plan would be put forward, which the developer would find it was unable to carry through; for example, money did not stack up and things could not be made to happen. The proposed development would lapse. Some years later another grand set of proposals would come forward, which may or may not proceed because of the financial package that was in place. At the same time, in the back of one's mind, one still had the excellence or merits of an earlier application; that is, what it had been trying to achieve and the nature of the buildings that were on offer.

This amendment is interesting. It takes us back to the detail of the whole design issue. But I do not think that this is the way to deal with it. The wording suggests that we should have,

"special regard ... to the merit of any design".

That is fine, but I am not quite sure what it means as regards this legislation. Obviously, it is an important issue, but it would be better placed in the background guidance, information, framework and criteria used to tease out design issues. Although the amendment reconfigures part of our earlier important debate, I am not sure that it takes us any closer to what noble Lords seek today.

The department looking at these issues is thinking about perhaps the full endorsement of the CABE guidance that protects design quality in the planning system as a companion guide to PPS1; or perhaps to revise some of the existing good practice guidance in PPG1 to ensure that it continues to promote best practice; and to provide further advice on the methods and tools available to ensure good quality design; for example, model conditions.

I want to reassure noble Lords that we are taking these issues very seriously. The Government want to tackle the important issues of urban design. We are thinking somewhat imaginatively in careful consultation with those who know how we can best achieve that. I applaud the efforts made by noble Lords. As the noble Lord, Lord Marlesford, said, planning Bills do not come along too often. This is an opportunity to get to grips with these important design issues. We all want to lever up design standards and provide the right kind of framework within which imaginative design can flourish and be encouraged.

1 Mar 2004 : Column 528

I do not know whether that takes us much further forward with Amendment No. 135, which is in any sense slightly flawed and not quite in the right place and of the right design. However, I wanted to suggest that we are mindful of the comments and observations that lie behind it.

9.30 p.m.

Baroness Maddock: My Lords, before the Minister sits down, does he recognise that the problem we are trying to address is that if a good quality design is approved at one stage of the process it is not possible for it to go backwards at another stage? That is what we have identified as part of the problem. I was not sure from his remarks whether he recognised how we would deal with it.

---