星空传媒

The government has clearly demonstrated how critical it is to not just build the additional homes we need but also to create successful long-lasting communities. These communities bring jobs, protect and enhance the environment, make the best use of brownfield land and generate mixed and balanced neighbourhoods that have enough economic strength to support local facilities.

Some of the key requirements as defined in the Communities Plan are:

• a flourishing local economy
  
• strong leadership
  
• effective engagement and participation by local people, groups and businesses, especially in the planning, design and long-term stewardship of their community, and an active voluntary and community sector
  
• a safe and healthy local environment with well-designed public and green space
  
• sufficient size, scale and density, and the right layout to support basic amenities and minimise use of resources, including land
  
• good public transport and other transport infrastructure both within the community and linking it to the outside world
  
• buildings that can meet different needs over time, and that minimise the use of resources
  
• a well-integrated mix of decent homes of different types and tenures to support a range of household sizes, ages and incomes
  
• good-quality local public services, including education and training opportunities, healthcare and community, especially leisure facilities,
  
• a diverse, vibrant and creative local culture, encouraging pride in the community and cohesion within it
  
• a "sense of place"
  
• the right links with the wider regional, national and international community.

The plan also addressed the countryside and environment with a guarantee to protect the green belt, 5000 affordable homes in villages and 拢201m to improve green spaces and provide parks and public areas.

There are now a number of successful examples of mixed-use, mixed-tenure schemes on brownfield sites across the country. Many new developments are recreating a respect for human dignity and reclaiming public areas for people by reducing the impact of cars.

London is some 650 square miles. If you take 1% of that and build to densities of say, 100 dwellings to the acre, you could provide homes for almost 1 million people

It is important that schemes can excite and inspire their residents but it is also critical to ensure facilities are created that can be enjoyed by the existing communities surrounding the area. By animating the public realm and balancing public open space with private amenities, schemes can be built to higher densities while maintaining a human scale and making sure the area is accessible to all.

I believe we have to rise to meet the government's aspirations and through imagination and innovation meet its objectives. Even in London there is no shortage of land, only shortage of land with planning consents. London is some 650 square miles, if you take 1% of that and build to moderate densities of say, 100 dwellings to the acre, you could provide homes for almost 1 million people. The four "growth areas" will facilitate long-term opportunities for new homes, but it is essential that we continue to generate new mixed-use communities on existing opportunities across the capital.

We should not underestimate the potential of rezoning existing commercial land for mixed-use, focusing on the ability to link the job opportunities arising from such sites to the affordable housing that would be created. In this way we can ensure social progress and give the severely disadvantaged opportunities to become economically active in their own neighbourhood.