What is beauty? And how does beauty manifest itself in new housing developments? These questions have been prominent in planning policy since the government’s creation of the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission in 2018.

Published in January 2020, the commission’s report Living With Beauty led to revisions within the National Planning Policy Framework which place a new emphasis on aesthetics. “Beauty” is now included in the definition of sustainable development and features throughout the revised policy document.

It was a perceived absence of beauty in new housing that initiated this: a belief that development is too often driven by utility, convenience and developer profit, resulting in mediocre, bland, ubiquitous buildings. The underlying political driver is housing targets – enhanced quality, it is hoped, will encourage local support and thereby lead to enhanced quantity. As the then communities secretary said, new developments which meet with community approval are less likely to be resisted.

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