A poll of 500 Londoners has found strong support for good architecture and design. 71% want buildings and public spaces in their local area that look good and work well. Most people also think that on balance it would be better if fewer homes were built with higher design standards.
The findings are published at the same time as Berkeley's response to the Farrell Review, which calls for London space standards to be extended nationwide.
According to Berkeley the space standards promoted in the London Plan have improved the quality of housing in the Capital and set a higher benchmark for the quality of new build homes.
Support for minimum area and ceiling heights is one of 8 proposals contained in Berkeley's response to the consultation. Others include a new programme of design training available to every councillor working on a planning committee and fresh investment in the capacity of local planning teams.
"Our experience is that building better places depends on a council's ability to show leadership and make decisions quickly," said Rob Perrins, Managing Director of the Berkeley Group. "If the Farrell Review can champion a few critical policy interventions with a general shift in the capacity and culture of planning, it will make a massive difference."
The findings of the full report and the results of Berkeley's research exploring Londoners' attitudes to architecture and design can be found here.
Notes to editors:
· The Berkeley Group build homes and neighbourhoods. We focus on creating beautiful, successful places. We work together with other people to tackle the shortage of good quality homes, and we make a lasting contribution to the landscape and to the communities we help create.
· In 2012, the Berkeley Group sustained 16,000 jobs and generated £2.6 billion of economic activity in Britain.
· The Berkeley Group is publicly-owned and listed on the London Stock Exchange as a FTSE 250 company. It is made up for 5 autonomous companies: St George, St James, Berkeley, Berkeley First, and St Edward.
· The Berkeley Group was voted Britain's Most Admired Company across all industries in 2011 and has been ranked Britain's most sustainable major housebuilder for the last seven years in a row by the Next Generation benchmark.
· The Berkeley Foundation supports young people and their communities across London and the South of England through charitable donations and the talent and time of our staff.