Government - new strategy on 'quality of place'

The government is to set minimum design standards for every public building in the UK under new plans to improve the quality of public spaces. Hazel Blears, secretary of state for communities and local government, highlighted the necessity of good design, even in tough economic times.

Hazel Blears said: "If we give up on good design now, we will simply create rundown areas which we will all have to live with once we get beyond this recession - and we'll end up paying for them twice. That's why we can't let the economic challenges we are facing now provide an excuse for bad planning, careless maintenance and poor quality buildings."

For more details, see article in Building magazine by Dan Stewart.