{"id":382018,"date":"2026-01-21T10:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T10:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/382018\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T10:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T10:15:16","slug":"labour-to-ditch-period-style-houses-for-ones-that-reflect-modern-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/382018\/","title":{"rendered":"Labour to ditch period-style houses for ones that reflect modern life"},"content":{"rendered":"

No more \u201ccookie-cutter neighbourhoods\u201d will be allowed under government plans to win over \u201cNimbys\u201d with contemporary homes.<\/p>\n

In a departure from Labour\u2019s previously touted visions of streets with period-type terraces or Edwardian-style mansion blocks, new planning guidance favours developments \u201cthat reflect modern life\u201d with room to work from home. <\/p>\n

In its push for 1.5 million new homes<\/a>, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government praised developments with modern architecture and green walkways in Leeds, Basildon and Rochester as examples to follow.<\/p>\n

Officials highlighted homes in the Climate Innovation District in Leeds as \u201cwalkable and wheelable to a primary school, care home and leisure facilities\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Beechwood Village in Basildon<\/p>\n

NICK KANE<\/p>\n

At Beechwood Village in Basildon, Essex, a mix of affordable and private homes with asymmetrical roofs inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement were factory-built a mile from the site, with homes customisable by residents. They sit in a network of pathways to nearby parks. \u201cQuieter streets mean neighbours can connect, children can play safely and older residents can stay active,\u201d the ministry said. <\/p>\n

New homes at Rochester Riverside in Kent were praised for a \u201cdiverse mix\u201d of family houses, maisonettes and flats with a \u201csense of place\u201d on the banks of the River Medway and views of Rochester\u2019s castle and cathedral. <\/p>\n

The examples shy away from the images of Victorian-style townhouses released by Angela Rayner<\/a>, the former housing secretary, to show what new development should look like. Those images were by Create Streets, a consultancy whose boss, Nicholas Boys Smith, had heavily influenced the Conservative government\u2019s drive to build \u201cbeautiful\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"Illustration<\/p>\n

Labour had previously promised to cover Britain in Edwardian-style mansion blocks<\/p>\n

CREATE STREETS<\/p>\n

While Labour subsequently dropped a requirement for \u201cbeauty\u201d imposed by the Conservatives, Sir Keir Starmer has said homes must be \u201cwell-designed\u201d. When visiting the King\u2019s period-style new town at Nansledan in Cornwall<\/a>, the prime minister cited \u201cvariation\u201d and \u201croads that aren\u2019t all straight\u201d as important elements of good design.<\/p>\n

Guidance published on Wednesday will say developers should build homes with home-working space, storage for bins and bikes, and flexible layouts that adapt as families grow.<\/p>\n

It sets out how neighbourhoods should have lots of green space and be located within walking distance of shops and businesses, to support local jobs and cut travel costs. <\/p>\n

\u201cStreets will prioritise walking and cycling, with dedicated routes linking homes, schools, places of worship, shops and parks,\u201d the housing ministry said. This would \u201ccreate safer streets for children [and] stronger communities that represent 21st-century living. There will no longer be cookie-cutter neighbourhoods,\u201d it added. <\/p>\n

\"Energy-efficient<\/p>\n

The Climate Innovation District in Leeds, an energy-efficient development just outside the city centre<\/p>\n

CITU<\/p>\n

Matthew Pennycook, the housing and planning minister, said the new design guidance \u201cwill help create more high-quality, well-designed, attractive and sustainable buildings and places. By making exemplary development the norm, not the exception, more communities will feel the benefits of new development and welcome it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No more \u201ccookie-cutter neighbourhoods\u201d will be allowed under government plans to win over \u201cNimbys\u201d with contemporary homes. In…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-382018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}