Garden communities: delivering the dream

Garden communities could provide much-needed homes and jobs within the next five years. So how can local authorities and their development partners manage these complex projects effectively to avoid delays in obtaining planning permissions? Masterplan expert Patrick Clarke shares some key steps.

Garden communities are an important part of the government’s ambitious plans to increase housebuilding to an average of 300,000 net new homes a year by the mid-2020s. Recent research by planning consultancy Lichfields estimates that the 49 potential garden communities could provide 403,000 homes, up to 180 primary schools, 56 secondary schools and 600 hectares of employment land.

In order to do this, we estimate that £70 billion would need to be spent. Correctly applied, this spend means that garden communities could have a crucial role to play in the UK’s economic recovery post coronavirus.

However, current delivery is not keeping up. Lichfields’ report also found that of the 49 projects identified since 2014, only 3 per cent have been completed. Of the remaining 97 per cent, we estimate that 60 per cent still need to go through the first step of obtaining local plan allocation (never mind outline planning consent and moving forward to build out). Speed through these stages is required if targets are to be met.

Yet experience sounds a warning bell. The 2020 housing audit carried out by University College London for countryside charity CPRE and the Place Alliance found that 75 per cent of 140 audited housing developments were mediocre at best.  Clearly, delivery at pace is not everything: quality must remain firmly in the frame. To that end, the independent Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission has recently set out over 100 policy recommendations for government and planning bodies.

An integrated, evidence-led approach to masterplanning

AECOM has developed the ‘Masterplanning ie.’ methodology to help project promoters overcome typical challenges and resolve associated risks so they can deliver high-quality garden towns and villages faster.

With so many recommendations to be conscious of in order to demonstrate a “commitment to quality” and possibly open a “fast track for beauty” as outlined in the commission’s report, taking the following steps will help local authorities and their development partners deliver the dream of high-quality sustainable garden communities.

• STEP ONE: bring in technical expertise at the outset. Undertaking a comprehensive initial briefing and evidence-gathering process at the start is hugely beneficial. At the outset, we bring together around 20 different professional skill sets that are typically required to develop a new community masterplan to collectively address the environmental, economic, social and physical aspects of sustainable large-scale development. This allows us to de-risk projects and create robust masterplans that bring more certainty into the planning and delivery phases. This integrated, evidence-led approach also leads to smoother and faster masterplan completion compared to conventional methods.
• STEP TWO: appoint a PMO or lead consultant. Once the masterplan is completed and outline planning consent has been achieved, the focus will shift to the complex delivery phase. This includes the procurement of development partners and contractors to deliver infrastructure, community facilities, open spaces and build the new homes. The early appointment of a PMO or lead consultant is highly advisable to prevent this process getting too ragged and ensure best value is delivered by the supply chain. The PMO or lead consultant should also bring all the technical expertise garnered at the masterplan phase to bear on the delivery, making sure this work is not lost and fully informs the next phase.
• STEP THREE: embrace connected data environments. The best way to harness the large amount of information gathered is to embrace a connected data environment, such as Autodesk BIM360 or Bentley ProjectWise. Both are widely used by AECOM across complex projects to provide accessible and secure information management as well as cost and progress transparency to clients and stakeholders. In addition, the PMO or lead consultant should use an integrated programme management tool such as the Digital PMO, which will bring together the multiple management systems to allow visibility, control and assurance of all aspects of the projects within the programme.
• STEP FOUR: think programmes not projects. Thinking about a large and complex scheme as a series of projects increases complexity, reduces opportunities for innovation and risks information being lost between parties.  It’s much better to plan a holistic programme of work.  As well as improving coordination and transparency for the client, this approach makes sure you identify the desired outcomes, define the strategy, then structure and drive the delivery of the programme to secure the benefits. It can also enable the introduction of more digital-led design such as digital libraries, which AECOM is using on programmes of work across the UK to reduce waste in the supply chain, improve sustainability and control cost.

A decade of delivery

Looking further ahead, the next decade promises significant change in terms of the way we live as well as the way we build. As the steps above show, delivering new communities to relieve the acute housing pressure in our increasingly dense cities can be done well and at pace.

The build out spend will provide much needed stimulus to the UK economy providing homes and jobs. However, it is vital that garden communities are built beautifully and sustainably so that they provide strong foundations for future communities to thrive.