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Political Party Conferences

With a general election less than a year away, this year’s party conferences were crucial for all three main parties and a good opportunity for the RIBA to try and influence emerging thinking before the parties finalise their manifestos.

The RIBA was again part of the Urban Hub group at this year’s conferences, joining forces with the Centre for Cities, Work Foundation, London Councils and the Core Cities Group. The Urban Hub Group held receptions at all three conferences and a joint “Cities Question Time”, which produced some excellent and varied debates. Notable highlights were Ken Livingstone’s appearance on the panel at the Labour Conference and the speeches given by the leaders of Newcastle, Hull, Liverpool, Bristol and Leeds City Councils at the Liberal Democrat reception.

What they said and who we met

Liberal Democrat Conference, Bournemouth

Unsurprisingly, the main focus of the Conference was the economy, with Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable announcing plans for a so-called “mansion tax” on homes over £1m. The Lib Dems also announced proposals to scrap the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and the Infrastructure Planning Commission. The Liberal Democrats also proposed to set-up of an infrastructure investment bank similar to the American version. The RIBA met with a number of Lib Dem spokespeople including the Shadow Housing Minister Sarah Teather MP, Schools Spokesperson Annette Brooke MP, Shadow Communities Minister Dan Rogerson MP and the Leader of the Liberal Group in the European Parliament, Graham Watson MP. The RIBA team also had further productive meetings with Shelter and the TCPA.

Labour Conference, Brighton

The Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a number of policy announcements in his Leader’s speech, pledging to create 250,000 green jobs and to protect investment in schools. He also pledged to create 10,000 internships and green job placements for young people. John Healey MP, the Shadow Housing Minister launched in his conference speech, the £180 million second bidding round for the new council house building programme. The RIBA met with a number of government ministers, including Schools Minister Vernon Coaker MP, Culture Minister Margaret Hodge MP and Climate Change Minister Joan Ruddock MP, and also had  meetings with Select Committee Chairs Barry Sheerman MP and Phyllis Starkey MP.

Conservative Conference, Manchester

The Conference was dominated by the theme of responsibility, with Shadow Chancellor George Osborne MP outlining a number of measures to cut the budget deficit including a public sector pay freeze. In his Leader’s speech, David Cameron criticized the fact that many new homes being built did not have enough space for a family dinner table, whilst Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps pledged to keep the green belt and end “garden grabbing”. The RIBA met with Shadow Planning Minister Bob Neill MP, who confirmed that the Party would be publishing a policy paper outlining reforms to the planning system. The RIBA also met with the Energy Savings Trust to discuss retrofitting existing buildings and with advisers to the Shadow Culture Minister Ed Vaizey MP.

RIBA fringes: Rise of the YIMBY? (Yes in my backyard)

The RIBA held lively “fringe” events at all three conferences, which this year centred around the Rise of the YIMBY  theme, examining whether government policies could help make new development more attractive and counter anti-development sentiment.

All three events produced some excellent discussion and in particular, debate centred around the need to strengthen the planning system and engender a more positive public interaction with it. The fringe events also touched on the issue of incentives, which it was felt could be used as a tool to help engender local support, although not necessarily in isolation.

The panellists at the three events were:

Lib Dems: Dermot Finch, Centre for Cities (Chair); Ruth Reed, RIBA; Dan Rogerson MP, Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government; Cllr John Shipley, Newcastle City Council; Tim Leunig, LSE Labour: Jim Pickard (Chair), Financial Times; Ruth Reed, RIBA; Nick Raynsford MP; Tristram Hunt, Queen Mary University; Cllr Sir Jeremy Beecham, LGA Labour Group; Imtiaz Farookhi, NHBC Conservatives: Joanna Averley (Chair), Centre for Cities ; Sunand Prasad, RIBA; Grant Shapps MP, Shadow Housing Minister; Chris Brown, RICS/Igloo Regeneration; John Slaughter, Home Builders Federation

Response to the Conservative Housing Green Paper

The RIBA has responded to the Conservative Party Housing Green Paper Strong Foundations: Building Homes and Communities. The RIBA welcomed many aspects of the paper, including its commitment to empower local authorities and to create Local Housing Trusts for delivery of homes in small communities however we were disappointed that the paper did not sufficiently address issues of design quality in new housing and highlighted the need to stimulate greater levels of innovation amongst housebuilders and more choice for consumers.

As well as addressing specific proposals outlined by the Conservative Party, the RIBA response made a number of practical recommendations, focussing particularly on the need to strengthen and increase resources for planning departments and to consider minimum design and space standards. Whilst the response welcomed moves to offer grants for energy efficiency improvements in existing homes, the RIBA called for a much more ambitious and comprehensive scheme and a commitment to completing the retrofit of 4 million homes in the next Parliament.

RIBA Manifesto 2009

The RIBA has launched its Manifesto for Architecture, Buildings Matter, ahead of next year’s General Election. Designed to reinforce the vote-winning potential of sound architectural policies, the document also challenges the current and future Government to understand that good design, and an improved planning system, are vital to the health and sustainability of our communities.

The RIBA Manifesto calls for:

4 million homes to be retrofitted within the lifetime of the next Parliament. The introduction of smart energy meters in every building and the publication of carbon bills by energy companies. Minimum design standards should be introduced for all public buildings including post-occupancy evaluation. The same minimum space, design and environmental standards should apply to all new homes, whether they are privately or publicly funded. More support was requested for Local Authorities to encourage good spaces and places.

 

'This house believes we have lost sight of the future'

Debate: 6:30pm – 8:30pm on 17 November at BFI, London Southbank

Belvedere Road, South Bank, London, SE1 8XT, United Kingdom

Directors have the art of visualising the future nailed. Film has the power to make tangible even the most utopian of scenarios, providing provocations that get us thinking. But why has the popular future become such an unobtainable place?

There was a time when architects aligned themselves with the future – with bold visions and political ideals. But who is imagining our tomorrow and where is their vision coming from? Do we need a call to arms to collectively envisage the future? What will those visions look like and what will inspire them? Is our fear of the future political, are we suffering from a lack of faith in our leadership? How can we regain it?

WIRED magazine with RIBA Building Futures hosts a multi-disciplinary evening fusing film, architecture and debate to reveal our ambitions for tomorrow.

For more on the debate series please click here |

 

'This house believes architectural education is failing to produce 21st century professionals with the right skills'

Debate: 7.00pm – 8.30pm on 26 November at BDP, Clerkenwell London. 

Architectural education requires graduates to invest in the profession from an early stage. Graduates have a right to expect reasonable rewards at the end of a long and expensive education, but have they developed the skills appropriate to the climate? With a dual crisis in the economy and the environment, is the education system equipping graduates for the reality of contemporary practice?

Recent figures published by HECSU indicate a rise of 22,000 in graduate unemployment; with the sector hit particularly hard, architecture graduates are likely to feature heavily in these figures. Will we loose a generation of young talent? Will this loss damage the public image of the profession? Can we afford to let this generation slip out of our hands? Is the education system to blame for not adapting to the changing nature of the profession? Should the professional bodies shoulder the responsibility for embedding these changes into the education system? Have practices capitulated to the demands of the client at the expense of nurturing graduates?

For more on the debate series please click here  | |

 

RIBA Council 2009-2010

The first RIBA Council meeting of the 2009-2010 session took place on 6 October chaired by new RIBA President Ruth Reed.

Members who have recently joined the Council are:

Pierre Wassenaar (RSAW President) Sir Sydney Chapman (National), Tzena James (National), Paul Fletcher (National), Alan Shingler (National), William Smedley (East Midlands), Peter Udall (North East), Matt Brook (North West), Simone Ridyard (North West), Ian Collins (Yorkshire), Alex Bancroft and Sara Tilley (students representatives) and Elena Tsolakis (graduate representative).

Honorary officers and vice-presidents in this session are:

Andrew Salter (Honorary Secretary), Roger Shrimplin (Honorary Treasurer), Paul Davis (Honorary Librarian), Jane Duncan (VP Practice), Oliver Richards (VP Education), David Falla (VP International), John Devlin (VP Membership) and John Assael (VP Professional Services).

The remaining Council meeting dates in this session are 8 December, 25 March and 24 June.