PX Forum: Housing on the high street
At the end of 2022, Gort Scott facilitated a PX Forum to explore this topic with a range of experts and stakeholders. Here’s what we learned.The intense 90-minute discussion explored a breadth of issues associated with delivering housing on our high streets, from a policy level to the scale of every individual resident, operator, and visitor. The participants were inspired by real case studies and invited to share personal and professional experiences. This summary sets out the key insights and recommendations that emerged.
Setting the scene
Town centres and high streets are where London’s incredible mix of people and activities come together. In the past, these places have often been viewed through the single lens of commercial use, but that’s rarely the case today. Instead, developers are increasingly seeking to create a diverse offer, integrating residential and commercial functions side-by-side. Additionally, we’re seeing a drive towards greater levels of density as a way to secure or improve a project’s financial viability.
As a result, certain residential-led block typologies, which are relatively untested in London, are now shaping many of the city’s town centres and high streets. Where historic blocks were made up of numerous buildings sharing servicing areas and amenity spaces, new blocks are often fused into a single, high-density edifice with intensified servicing and amenity requirements.?
More homes require more service space, and more service space requires more real estate. There are a number of ways to deal with this reality, the most common being:
Furthermore, it is worth considering the quality of life that residents of dense high street developments may experience, considering the challenges that arise, regarding microclimate, over-heating, outdoor space, air pollution, light pollution, and noise.
Considering these challenges, it is worth asking: Is there a fundamental land use distribution and density problem? And can it be resolved through building typology and technical design, supported by policy and planning??
Key takeaways
1.?????A high street is not a town centre – calling for high street specific development guidelines
London is often presented as a city of high streets, distinct by their linear forms and connective functions. Yet in recent years, the forum participants found that there had been a lack of focus on this particular typology in policy documents like the New London Plan, which have instead focused on the development of “town centres”. The two are of course closely related, and yet may require entirely different approaches to design and management. Furthermore, it leaves high streets that are located outside of town centres without the regulatory support they may require.
To address this issue, the forum called for policy makers to put forward design requirements specifically tailored to deal with the high street typology.?For example, to avoid inhospitable ‘canyons’ created by continuous tall buildings embanking on the high street, local plans might help direct residential developments to the blocks immediately behind, thus maintaining both the high street’s integrity and its population base.
2.?????Setting the bar high – calling for stricter planning application requirements?
High street planning applications should reflect the important role that our high streets play in bringing together communities and unlocking a wealth of opportunity. Forum participants did not feel that planning authorities were necessarily equipped with the right documentation to make an informed decision.
Additional information which could be required for high street planning applications includes:
The forum participants also acknowledged that Planning Officers need to be supported to understand what high-quality strategies look like and that they should request more information when needed.?
“Imagine?a policy ingredient that would encourage developers and architects to draw the public realm and buildings as if they had something to do with each other. What a crazy idea!” Julian Lewis, East.
3.?????Beyond cappuccino culture – calling for a tailored, inclusive curatorial strategy
Developers and designers have a responsibility to engage with local and future high street residents to identify meaningful uses for ground floor units. In too many places, expensive coffee shops occupy spaces immediately below affordable homes, creating a significant gap between the high street’s economic and social purpose. In addition to excluding people from their own neighbourhood, this situation also puts retailers at greater risk of business failure.?
The forum participants all agreed that there was value to creating a strong narrative for a development’s purpose, rooted in local needs. While we all know the property market is changeable, designing for specificity, with in-built flexibility, is still far better than designing with nothing in mind. Practically, you may want to start by looking for a unique anchor tenant.
“The right kind of developer can justify loss-leading ground floor uses on the residential...but you do also need things, like a post-office or supermarket that appeal to everyone and aren’t necessarily ‘cool’ that enhance the place.”? Neil Murphy, Town
4.?????Home sweet home – calling for quality housing?
The environmental and acoustic performance of high street buildings which incorporate both commercial and residential uses should be a key concern for policymakers, developers, designers, and residents alike.
Reviewing an example of a recent post-occupancy housing evaluation, the forum participants found that close to 3 in 4 residents reported feeling unhappy with the temperature and noise control in their home. Additionally, they may suffer from greater levels of air and light pollution. Such results do not bode well for the future of housing on the high street – nor does it suggest a great quality of life for our high street communities.
This is a challenge which must be addressed through a variety of means, ranging from the scale of material choices to the assembly of entire districts. Furthermore, developers and architects may increase the quality of place by thinking outside the red line, integrating building, public realm, and service design. For example, at Aberfeldy’s neighbourhood parade, Morris and Company have transformed the servicing street behind the parade into a managed ‘play street’ linked to the school on the other side of the road, with residential doors fronting onto it.?
Selected Precedents:
-?????????Bermondsey Square, East: Example of a high street development made up of a series of mixed-use buildings around a public square with a market, hotel, offices and retail (including supermarket) and housing.?https://www.east.uk.com./landscape/bermondsey-square-and-market .?
-????????Aberfeldy High Street, Morris and Company and Poplar Harca: Replacement of an existing parade with housing above with extensive engagement alongside business incubation and meanwhile strategy:?https://morrisand.company/work/aberfeldy-village
-?????????Fish Island, Haworth Tompkins / Pitman Tozer: A mixed-use neighbourhood centre with successful mixed-use building typologies but perhaps the uses could do more to integrate with the needs of local residents:?https://www.haworthtompkins.com/work/neptune-wharf-at-fish-island-village
-?????????Wolverton Town Centre, Town: Regenerating Wolverton’s town centre on the site of a 1970’s shopping centre by reintroducing the historic street pattern, fine-grain plots and density:?https://www.wearetown.co.uk/projects/love-wolverton/
-?????????In many cities in Europe is normal for light industrial uses to be underneath housing. For example in the 1950s/60’s redevelopment of Rotterdam:?https://theslaakrotterdam.nl/en/about/the-citys-reconstruction/
Hosts
Esther Everett , London Legacy Development Corporation Fiona Scott , Gort Scott julian lewis , East architecture, landscape urban design ltd Neil Murphy , TOWN.