Leading housing and planning charity the Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA) welcomes the Deputy Prime Minister’s launch of the Garden City Prospectus to deliver inspirational Garden Cities for the future. The TCPA believes this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to design new places and low carbon communities that are inclusive with genuinely affordable beautifully designed homes; that provide local jobs and schools; that have integrated transport systems; that have high standards of green infrastructure; that are economically viable, and where land-value capture is for the benefit of existing and future inhabitants.
On 15 May 2014, the TCPA will hold a conference in central London to discuss the principles in detail and how they can be applied at the local level. Following this event, on 2 June 2014 the Association will publish Garden Cities Today: a Practical Guide on Standards. This Guide will be aimed at local authorities, the private sector and communities and will go into practical detail on the standards required to deliver Garden Cities. The TCPA has been leading a campaign for the Garden City approach to development and is delighted that all the Garden City principles have been listed in the prospectus.
TCPA Head of Policy Hugh Ellis said:
“We welcome the Deputy Prime Minister’s announcement setting out the core requirements of proposed Garden Cities, as well as the support package that the Government can offer to facilitate their delivery. Going forward, we believe it is vital that the key principles of Garden Cities are embedded into any proposals to deliver these well designed and inclusive new communities, and not just in the South East. Garden Cities remain a viable and essential part of the solution to the country’s escalating housing crisis, and these standards will offer a guiding light for local authorities to create beautiful new places where people want to live and work. The Garden City Principles are designed as an indivisible and interlocking framework for the delivery of socially just and high quality places. We hope that local authorities across the country will seize the opportunity to plan for a better future by ensuring the all principles are upheld in perpetuity.”
All the TCPA’s campaign documents, including guidance on the Garden City concept and principles, the finance and delivery of Garden Cities, and on specific issues such as long-term stewardship and land value capture for the benefit of the community are available on the TCPA website.
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