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New national model design code will fail to produce well designed places if access to food is ignored, Sustain fears.
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The National Model Design Code and Guidance Notes for Design Codes are a coordinated suite of planning policy and guidance which aim to improve the quality of England’s built environment. There is an opportunity until 27 March 2021 to make comments.
Together these documents shift decisions on the quality (or not) of new development away from site by site plans by developers and takes the agenda on what makes a well designed place centre stage.
Gillian Morgan, Sustain's Planning Lead, commented:
Sustain welcomes the small step forward, but the draft model design code misses a giant stride towards avoiding future unhealthy places. If the approved code and guidance do not include the need for access to food, there will be no trigger for subsequent local detailed guidance to include food access. Even worse, until local guidance is produced, decisions will be based on these national design codes.
We urge everyone interested in a good food environment to respond to the consultation by thinking about how sustainable food neighbourhoods are designed. Will the guidance result in communities with access to fresh and healthy food?
The consultation is seeking views on
Our full briefing can be read here but in essence, the main concerns are:
Planning Food Cities: Shaping the future of local areas to create a more sustainable and local food system.
Sustain
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Sustain advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, promote equity and enrich society and culture.
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