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Mayor Johnson’s new London Housing Design Guide

By Gordon Miller

DELEGATES at the Delivering Homes for Londoners conference, hosted by the NLA in London, were yesterday given a preview presentation of the Mayor of London's new Housing Design Guide policy document.

Geoff Raw, Director of Design, Policy and Planning for the London Development Agency (LDA), which is the Mayor of London's agency for business and jobs, outlined Mayor Boris Johnson's desires to see that housing is at the forefront of London's response to climate change needs and social changes.

The mayor has set a target to halve overcrowding in social housing by 2016. The housing & homelessness charity Shelter claims that one in three children in London, and one in ten nationally, is living in overcrowded accommodation.

Mr Raw said: "The Mayor's Housing Design Guide is an attempt to consolidate a broad range of information currently published in to one overarching document. The aim is to raise housing design standards, which have been poor in some cases throughout the economic boom years, particularly in social housing."

Mr Raw outlined the Guide’s six key aspects, which include minimum design standards and levels of quality recommended in some cases. The Guide has been drawn up in consultation with housing industry professionals.

1. Multi-density and mixed type developments
2. Shaping places - the space between
3. Arriving home - the street to front door
4. Good dwelling space - needs and minimum standards for interior and private outdoor usable space
5. Home as a place of retreat - include natural daylight and privacy considerations
6. Climate change mitigation and response - inline with Code for Sustainable home requirements and with emphasis on mitigating the urban heat island effect, which London and all cities suffer, through living roofs and walls

Mr Raw said: "Currently each London borough sets its own agenda, within the national legislative framework. It's the mayor's aim that we have one Housing Design Guide that unifies all London boroughs.

"[Furthermore], we aim that London will lead the way for national design standards - and it's our aim that the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA), which is the national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England, adopts the Mayor of London's Housing Design Guide, which will enable this to happen.

Mr Raw noted that if the HCA does adopt the Mayor of London's Housing Design Guide then Registered Social Landlords (RSL's), who are commissioning the majority of new homes being built in the capital today, will also do so because they receive funding from the HCA.

Andy von Bradsky, chairman of PRP Architects, who are working on housing regeneration projects at Clapham Park Estate and also in Haggerston, East London, speaking after Mr Raw, said that it is his wish that the published Housing Design Guide is far reaching in positioning London as the world's premier 'green' city.

Based on what he had heard during Mr Raw’s presentation he doubted the Guide would enable that to happen. Responding to the proposition: Moving towards zero-carbon homes in London, Mr von Bradsky noted that being able to achieve zero carbon status is a learning journey and we are not there yet as things stand, but that it can be achieved.

He said: "Through energy efficiency and reduced consumption, district-wide and community energy generation schemes, and by adding renewables to existing housing stock it can be done. Already, building new homes that are 44% more energy efficient is easily achievable through addressing the building envelope."

The Mayor of London's Housing Design Guide, delivered by the LDA, will be formally launched on 8 July 2009.

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