Nicholas Boys Smith is the Director of Create Streets and has written widely on planning and on the links between design with wellbeing and popular support for development. He is chair  of the Government’s Design Body Steering Group and was co-chair alongside the late Sir Roger Scruton of the Building Better Building Beautiful Commission which reported in 2020 to widespread support. The Secretary of State for Housing described it as “seminal.” Nicholas is a Commissioner of Historic England and a research fellow at the University of Buckingham on urban design.