Create Streets founder Nicholas Boys Smith has been appointed by UK housing secretary Robert Jenrick to lead a national design body that has been tasked with "driving up design standards" for planning applications.
Boys Smith will lead a steering group that will create the government's as-yet-unnamed architecture task force, which will work with local communities to develop legally binding design codes. Once the group's role has been finalised he will lead it as chairperson.
Announcing the appointment, Jenrick said that the body will aim to improve design quality and make beauty a requirement of winning planning.
"For the first time in this country, we are embedding beauty, design and quality in the planning system," he said at the Create Streets conference. "The creation of a new design body will empower communities to demand developments are built to local preferences and reflect the character and identity of their communities ? assigning 'anywhereville' developments to history."
Government appoints heritage advisor too
Boys Smith is the founder of the campaigning group Create Streets, which lobbies for high-density low-rise housing developments in cities. He also previously co-chaired the controversial Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission with the late Roger Scruton.
This commission concluded that developers could be offered a fast track for planning approval if their plans were deemed beautiful.
"New places should be the...