Levelling Up - Lessons in Gove

All the homes that we were building [that would be nice].

Back commuting again so thinking time on the train = dangerous. Inspired by a more learned assessment from Simon Ricketts, some sideways thoughts for our new Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities with apologies to Mark King.

“All the dreams that we were building, we never fulfilled them” – as we all reassess what matters and want to emerge from Covid with purpose, there is a real need for leadership and inspiration in the Department that’s responsible for the places we build and the way we do it.?After what seems like a churn of planning ministers and a revolving door for who is in charge, I hope Mr Gove will show us it’s ok to be ambitious and, for the planning and design community, it’s ok to be passionate, innovative and to challenge the norm.?The best projects I have ever worked on have been rooted on an understanding of potential and a conviction to achieve or exceed it.?Not to settle for second best.

“If we lose the time before us, the future will ignore us” – on the cusp of COP26 and at a time of climate emergency, this is pretty bang on.?There’s jeopardy on the decisions that will or won’t happen in Glasgow in a few weeks’ time.?Greta will have a view.?What we do in planning and placemaking is fundamental for sustainability and this is most definitely a moment.

“Could be better, should be better” – Mr Gove has a big brief but he’s also a big hitter. So here’s the opportunity to raise the bar and drive through some of the ambitions on building beautiful, resourcing planning departments, embracing tech in the urban design process, really involving communities, and pushing everyone involved to deliver things they can be proud of.?We all have a role to play but we need the Secretary of State to bang the drum and to push colleagues in Westminster and Whitehall for investment, commitment and support.

If you’ve read this far – thank you.?Don’t worry, next week won’t be riffing Liz Truss and Joe Biden via Howard Jones’ ‘Like to get to know you well’.

I’ll get my coat….