Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃

Planning & Design Director
Formerly - University of Manchester Urban Design & Town Planning Masters.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

I think it would be great to start a new thread of constrained urban infill sites in the UK so I will start one now to highlight where every opportunity to deliver new homes can be taken.
Please feel free to add for further references!

First up DPQ
https://t.co/s3MtQXlgO7

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@owenjonesjourno There also was basically no one living in the city centre before. The population has rocketed and thank god it has. If you want a vibrant city centre you need people to love there.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@owenjonesjourno They were forced out of the low job density industrial estate at deangate were they? If Manchester didn't build like it does it would be doing so much worse.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@PhilippeFlops @KirstieMAllsopp Also people living at home with their parents often buy which doesn't help the supply. We are moving around the deck chairs if we don't build more homes.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@maxwell_marlow @JamesCleverly @RICSnews @yimbyinitiative @UKREiiF His party was in power for quite some time until recently and he showed minimal interest in planning in his constituency the whole time I worked there. Time for some fresh ideas I think from new people.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

The easiest way we can deliver these approvals is through a policy such as Room to Grow.

https://t.co/nyJf8Chg7V

We could have the permissions in this parliament.

[Sam Dumitriu @Sam_Dumitriu]

Labour are on course to miss their 1.5 million home target by close to 750,000 homes.

Until last week, Miatta Fahnbulleh was a housing minister. Here, she describes the planning rejection of 870 homes as a 'big win'.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@Victoria_Spratt The main benefit is often overlooked and that is the new housing that is desperately needed.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@moving_charlie @PolicygapUK So you don't actually know what's going on. your sweeping statements are not helpful in any case. Stick to finding a few very wealthy people their dreams homes perhaps.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@GJMarshy I agree that the streetscape and integration at the lower levels with the context could generally be done much better. As a design officer, unfortunately I think that the vision and skill set of those helping to shape Manchester is often lacking. It's not rocket science.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@antoniabance @KaneEmerson The promise of engagement with smaller developers has not been carried through. It's a thankless task to try and assist the government in improving policies with genuinely practical proposals. We are in managed decline now and many are existing the sector as it's untenable.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@antoniabance @KaneEmerson I genuinely think that Labour thinks it is but the rhetoric isn't matched by policy interventions. Politicians rarely understand the actuality of delivering homes and I have been at meetings where the housing target was scoffed at by MHCLG and DEFRA. Only two mind you..

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@antoniabance @KaneEmerson BNG is being loosened, not by enough but it's still not even happened. It's all too slow and a key issue is you have the same people who came up with the policies implemented in place in the civil service. This is a key reason why things only ever get amended marginally.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@antoniabance @KaneEmerson It's becoming too risky to plan, too hard to finance and there are no big ideas coming forward. Room to Grow — Small Sites Alliance https://t.co/7V97V5ct2c

I have worked in planning for over 15 years and I can only tell you the rhetoric is no followed by practical action.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@antoniabance @KaneEmerson Honestly, much quicker and with much more invested. £39m is not a lot of money in development at all and for SMEs the situation is just worsening. The BNG for small sites should have been altered immediately. I don't think that MPs, or even ministers realise..

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@antoniabance @KaneEmerson .. a big issue is the same people in the same roles in the civil service pulling the strings. There is no way 1.5 will even be approved in this parliament without the action needed to support smaller developers. People are leaving the industry out of necessity.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@antoniabance @KaneEmerson The plan isn't working at all currently. It has been very disappointing what a damp squid Labour has been with planning reforms. Nothing has been done quickly. I fear they've lost their last chance for a generation and god knows what will come after this.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@paulpowlesland @dekef32 They should be fined and the companies handed back over to us. It's genuinely unbelievable what's gone on.

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

How have we got to a situation where the building around stations means that should only be 150 homes here and still be objected to. It's an embarrassment. The whole of this side of the tracks should be effectively be a new town which is much denser and taller than the other side

[Duncan Stott 🏗️🔰🇺🇦 @DuncanStott]

The 150 homes they're opposing will be literally next door to the tube station. This is the perfect location for desperately needed new homes.

[Dimenpsyonal @dimenpsyonal]

Why does the area surrounding a CENTRAL LINE STATION look like the rural countryside???? I want towers with 10 floors surrounding that station on all sides

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@Victoria_Spratt What do you mean a return to any sort of government demand-side support for housing in this context?

[Urban Designer 🍃🏳️‍🌈🍃 @Urban__Designer]

@mattykenphoto @Victoria_Spratt And tripled fees..