According to a national design audit overseen by UCL for the CPRE, 75% of new housing development in England should not have received planning permission due to ‘mediocre’ or ‘poor’ design.

140 housing developments built across England since 2007 were audited and the report found that due to poor design, one in five should have been rejected during the planning process. This was because they failed to comply with guidelines provided by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). However, it must be pointed out that the NPPF has only been in circulation since March 2012.

The report also found that 54% should have undergone significant design improvements before obtaining planning permission.

Other negative factors highlighted were, less affluent communities are ten times more likely to get poor design, low-scoring developments scored especially badly in terms of character and sense of place and some of the worst aspects of design involved developments dominated by access roads and the poor integration of storage, bins and car parking, leading to unattractive and unfriendly environments.

On a positive note, schemes scored relatively highly for safety and security and were able to integrate a variety of sizes of house.

At M. Lambe Construction we are already helping the Midlands’ leading housebuilders deliver the high-quality homes and infrastructure the UK desperately needs, and they are very happy with our dedication.

Phil McHugh, Regional Construction Director at Countryside, said: “I’ve been working with M. Lambe Construction for over five years and have found them to be a highly professional team with a refreshing emphasis on nurturing client relationships, stemming from the company’s own long history of strong family values. They’ve worked with me on a number of large and small scale projects across the Midlands – from an exclusive 60 home community, to larger 200 plot neighbourhoods with complex road and sewer structures.

“Overall, I’ve been very impressed with the quality of work and service received, so I look forward to progressing this long-standing partnership as Countryside’s Midlands portfolio continues to grow.

Gavin Jones, Production Director, Miller Homes Midlands, said: “Right from the off, they were very professional in their approach and had a can-do attitude. They really embraced the ethos of what we wanted to achieve here: the delivery of homes built to outstanding quality.

Through their pre-construction expertise, they offered a number of ground engineering solutions that enabled the redesign of the site topography, coupled with an earthworks strategy to minimise the movement & exportation of site-produced material. This helped generate cost savings and had a positive impact on the environment.”

So, if you’d like to work with a civil engineering and groundworks specialist who has been supporting the region’s growth for over 35 years or call us on 0121 554 2108 to talk with one of our experts.