London architects

I was working in the office the other day researching around Green Belt Architects And Designers and I wrote this article. What do you think about it?

While part of the rationale for development in the Green Belt is the need for affordable housing, most of the development that is proposed is not ‘affordable’. Of the homes proposed for the Green Belt, less than 30 per cent of units were considered affordable. The green belt is an emotional as well as a highly technical topic. Like all such emotional and technical areas, the subject matter can be easily misunderstood or misrepresented. Infrastructure development (such as airports, motorways and electricity transmission and distribution lines) is a common feature in many areas of Green Belt. One of the largest and most controversial infrastructure proposals in England, a third runway at Heathrow Airport, would have a significant effect on Green Belt land if permitted, both in terms of the location of the runway itself and in the sourcing of construction material from extraction sites in other Green Belt locations. Ever since cities were created there has been a migration to them and away from the country. This continues to be the case despite our ever more romantic vision of the rural – only recently have we seen marginally more people migrating to the country. Some Local Planning Authorities like Epping Forest, Warrington, and Cheshire have as high as 99.4% of their area designated as Green Belt. These areas have a high degree of land set to pasture, parks, forests and open countryside. The majority of the population believes Green Belt to be beautiful and rich in wildlife. A few are concerned about damaged land, litter and fly-tipping and, although there is some evidence of this in the Green Belt, it relates to a small proportion of the land and at very specific locations particularly near to main roads.



Green belt architects believe that their strengths stem from the interplay between their design and technical disciplines combined with their experience of projects at every stage of the process from concept feasibility drafts through to detailed design and construction. If you’ve got land in the Green Belt that you’re considering developing, then think of the guidelines on Green Belts not as inherently anti-development or anti-building, but more as a test of experience, design and skill to avoid poor quality builds. Integrating sustainability from the outset is a fundamental requirement to any design solution. Simple solutions, such as the building's siting, form and fabric, can have the greatest impact on energy conservation, and often with the least capital cost. Green belt architects prepare and facilitate all planning documentation, evidence and applications for green belt planning, including any appeals. They provide an after-care service through construction and/or sale, to ensure town planning compliance is fully documented and to deal with changes or additions as the project progresses. A solid understanding of New Forest National Park Planning makes any related process simple and hassle free.

Project Management

The Green Belt plays a key role in assisting the recovery of nature and our vital eco-systems at a time when repairing the damage done by decades-long degradation of our natural environment has never been more urgent. Keeping as much land ‘green’ as possible and constraining development is also crucial in absorbing water and helping to prevent flooding. Ask a green belt architect what inspires them and they'll tell yoy that they aim to create site-specific high quality design solutions at any scale – the spaces in which we all live and work should be sensory, exciting, inspiring, imaginative and fun. Green Infrastructure refers to a strategically planned and managed network of green spaces and other environmental features vital to the sustainability of any urban area. A green infrastructure approach involves considering different development layouts and densities to provide usable space and deliver meaningful opportunities for multiple functions. Very occasionally, the exceptional quality and innovative nature of the design of a proposed, isolated new house may provide this special justification for granting planning permission in the green belt. The UK is still not meeting predicted hosuing demand, but there has certainly been a boom in employment of architects, planners and landscape architects catering for increased supply of housing. You may be asking yourself how does Architect London fit into all of this?

A green belt architect can prepare written submissions to consultation events and attend public examinations and hearings on behalf of a landowner. Conversely, they can represent clients in opposing potential site allocations. Planning controls should be strengthened for large-scale or damaging land-use changes in the countryside, in particular, large-scale farm buildings, new and improvement works by drainage bodies and water authorities, clearances of woodland, works affecting woodland and large-scale afforestation. Green Belt policies in development plans should ensure that any planning applications for inappropriate development would not be in accord with the plan. These exceptional cases would thus be treated as departures from the development plan. Green belt architects provide building services design, training, monitoring and anything else for low energy buildings that will improve the built environment. They strongly believe in disseminating information and specialise in sustainable, low energy design. In some people's view, the Green Belt is generally uninspiring or unremarkable and is characterised as derelict and underused land given over to horse grazing or containing ‘bad neighbour’ development such as motorways, pylons or quarries. An understanding of the challenges met by Net Zero Architect enhances the value of a project.

Assisting In Urban Regeneration

Green belt architects provide accurate, impartial and cost-effective professional planning advice to ensure their client’s planning applications receive a smooth journey through an often expensive and complex planning process. The development of small scale sites on the edge of existing settlements can represent a sustainable form of development that supports local services and reduces the need to travel. The inclusion of land for residential development on the edge of settlements can also represent an opportunity to 'round off' existing towns and villages within the rural area. Proposals should be of an appropriate scale and form that is proportionate to the size and character of the existing settlement. The Government sees the Green Belt as helping the process of regeneration. Its Strategic Guidance envisages changes to Green Belt boundaries only in exceptional circumstances when economic regeneration may be constrained by the lack of suitable industrial sites. Green belt architects have an excellent understanding of planning policy and extensive experience across a broad range of projects throughout London, the Home Counties and further afield. Some architects are often asked about the potential for finding loopholes in green belt planning restrictions along with a host of questions about what you might be entitled to do with existing farm buildings. Designing around Green Belt Planning Loopholes can give you the edge that you're looking for.

There is guarantee that the housebuilding industry has the capacity to deliver the level of affordable housing that is needed or that development would take place in the right locations, served by the necessary infrastructure. NPPF paragraph 79 allows the development of new isolated homes in the countryside, where it can be shown there is an essential need for a rural worker to live permanently at or near their place of work. However, this would still represent ‘inappropriate’ development in a Green Belt location. Whether a green belt proposal is for the remodelling of an existing house or a mixed-use development, a viability appraisal can be a useful tool from the outset of a project. It is a standalone piece of work to evaluate whether there is scope for a scheme, or to inform a project's future. A central problem with Green Belt development is that opposition is local and focused. Consequently it is not surprising that such objections often find support from local politicians. Local residents who object to development in their locality represent real votes that can be counted. The counter arguments, from those in housing need, are general and unrelated to the local debate. While not a reason to designate Green Belt, paragraph 81 of the NPPF states that Green Belts should be used to, amongst other things, retain and enhance landscapes and visual amenity. Where extensions or alterations to buildings will adversely affect valuable views into or out of the village or previously developed site, the proposals will not be supported. Maximising potential for GreenBelt Land isn't the same as meeting client requirements and expectations.

Advising And Advocacy

Architecture consultants specialising in the green belt rarely find themselves making a decision based purely on carbon footprint, yet they find that improving a building's environmental efficiency also improves the design in other ways. The green belt acts as a protective barrier to this - reducing people's ability to build on the surrounding rural areas, thereby ensuring the continued protection of biodiversity and forest lands. The green belt notion also protects settlements with special historic character from overdevelopment. Getting planning permission for Green Belt land - while difficult - is possible given the right circumstances. The construction of any new buildings would be considered inappropriate development on Green Belts, and as such, you would be required to submit a case for “very special circumstances” which must outweigh the resulting harm to Green Belt land. One can unearth additional information regarding Green Belt Architects And Designers at this Wikipedia entry.

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