Britain needs homes. But simply chasing housing quotas must never become an excuse for badly planned estates, unnecessary destruction of countryside or a new generation of ugly, soulless developments.
We have been here before.
We do not want a return to the mistakes of the 1960s and 1970s, when too much of our architectural heritage was swept aside and communities were left with concrete blocks and developments which people subsequently spent decades trying to regenerate or demolish.
What we build today could define Britain for the next 100 years. We have to get it right.
Through our Make Britain Beautiful campaign, the Great British PAC is calling for greater care over the appearance, quality and location of new development.
New homes should enhance, not diminish, the character of Britain's towns, villages and communities. Buildings should be attractive, well designed and sympathetic to their surroundings. Development should come with the schools, GP surgeries, roads, drainage, public transport, green spaces and other infrastructure required to support the people who will live there.
And we need YOU to help us keep watch.
Across the country, councils and mayoral authorities will be making decisions which could fundamentally change our communities. We want local residents scrutinising planning applications, attending meetings, questioning decisions and alerting us when something does not look right.
Where authorities and developers are failing to meet their obligations, communities must be prepared to object and hold them to account.
We also support Bromsgrove MP Bradley Thomas's “brownfield first” campaign and Parliamentary petition, which calls for previously developed land to be prioritised, empty homes to be brought back into use and new development to proceed with the infrastructure communities need.
Before reaching for yet another green field, we should be asking what brownfield sites can be regenerated and what existing buildings can be brought back into productive use.
The Great British PAC is building a network to fight for this.
Are you an architect, planner, surveyor, developer, engineer, conservation specialist or building expert who believes Britain can build the homes it needs without making our country uglier? We want to hear from you.
Are you a resident who wants to keep watch over planning proposals in your area? We want you too.
We already have a growing army of Email Warriors who can mobilise behind important local campaigns, respond to consultations and make sure the voices of communities are heard.
Send us developments and planning proposals that concern you. Send us examples of beautiful new developments that should be celebrated too.
We are not against building. We are against building badly.
Britain desperately needs homes, but it also deserves beauty, functioning communities and a countryside protected from unnecessary destruction.
BUILD HOMES. BUILD COMMUNITIES. BUILD BEAUTIFULLY.
Join the Great British PAC's Make Britain Beautiful campaign and help us keep watch over what is being built in Britain.
Contact us and get involved at info@GreatBritishPAC.com
Sign Bradley Thomas MP's petition at:
https://www.bradleythomas.org.uk/campaigns/build-brownfield-first-and-bring-empty-homes-back-use