Design control—bridging the professional divide, part 2: A new consensus

Abstract

In Part 1 of this paper the new framework for design control in England in the form of (revised) Planning Policy Guidance Note 1: General Policy and Principles (1997) was examined alongside a reformulation of the established critiques of design control in the UK. From the analysis the implications of the new framework for the key actors in the design control process was considered and the extent to which the guidance addresses the key themes of the design control debate reviewed. In Part 2, the rare opportunity is taken of reviewing a snapshot of opinion on design control from across the full range of actors in the design/development process. This is achieved through a detailed comparative review of the responses of 20 key (development, professional and amenity) respondents to the consultation exercise held on the revised government guidance on design. From the analysis, a series of eight key consensus positions are identified; positions it is argued that provide a potential basis from which to bridge the cross‐professional design divide. To confirm this the consensus positions identified in Part 2 are used as a means to revisit the established critiques of design control examined in Part 1. Finally, some tentative conclusions are drawn on developing the broad consensus, with a particular focus on the issue of design skills—the major concern of the key actors to avoid consideration in the new framework provided by (revised) PPG1.