Our the cycle of the Housing Expert Panel kicked off in January, with our first session launching the theme of study for the next year as:

‘Living London Life: using lived experience to shape our city’s future housing’.

Our gathering started with the screening of ‘The White Flats’, a film made by and starring residents of Highgate New Town Phase 1. These homes were designed by Peter Tábori and Ken Adie while working for Camden Council’s Architectural Division led by Sydney Cook in 1972. The film explores the lived experience of residents of all ages across the estate and the key aspects of its design which have fostered such a close-knit and cohesive community for over 50 years. From the disposition of buildings, routes and spaces, and the treatment of landscape as an entire playground for all ages, to the careful pairing of dwelling entrances, low walls, covered entranceways, soft thresholds and clever internal planning, the film carefully unpicks the significance of each of these layers through the resident voice. First screened at the University of Westminster School of Architecture in November 2023, in memory of graduate Peter Tábori who died in March last year, The White Flats is a powerful reminder of the impact of good housing within a neighbourhood and the wider benefits of health and wellbeing for all ages. We all know it, but all too rarely are these voices captured in this way, distilled to their essence and genuinely listened to. It is an important resource for future housing design. 

If ever there was a moment to learn lessons and re-think our approach to housing design and delivery in London, it is now. With Mayoral and National elections within the next year, there is an opportunity to radically shift gear, listen to our resident communities and not just accept the status quo. As in the time of Highgate Newtown, it will take bravery and vision to break from convention and unlock better high-quality housing delivery. We must address challenges in design, policy, procurement and process front-on.

With this sense of urgency, we agreed to draw upon all POE research from across the NLA membership and other key organisations, such as the Quality of Life Foundation. We will scrutinise successful estates and neighbourhoods of all eras and draw out key future housing priorities – including design, funding, policy and management. 

Unsurprisingly, our discussion was wide ranging. We heard from the panel’s commissioning clients Bromley and Haringey council and Barratt London about the challenges of viability and housing management. We also reflected on the need for greater funding linked to higher standards to encourage higher design quality and innovation and the importance of contextual design and the mixing of tenures. Many on the panel offered up anecdotal and formal POE feedback, citing opportunities to revisit high density developments built 10 years ago. We will certainly follow-up this year. Prompted by the ‘White Flats’ interview with three generations of the same family still living on the estate, we also discussed vital tenant allocation structures to keep families and neighbours together and prioritise local residents in new developments.

Sadly, our conversation also explored the explosion of family emergency housing need across the capital. Some of this accommodation has been created through PDR which avoids the planning process altogether. The quality is unacceptably poor, meaning the most vulnerable are housed in sub-standard environments. Furthermore, we discussed how, even where planning approval is required, the process itself has little flexibility to support good housing for those most in need in emergency situations. 

Finally, our session broadened to the crucial provision of social and transport infrastructure to support new housing, particularly in the outer boroughs and the importance of creating new opportunities to encourage downsizing to free up larger homes for young families.

Our renewed and energised panel are poised ready to share experiences, review POE research and draw from our wide networks across the industry. If you have research results to share, we would love to hear from you too. Understanding the successes and failures of London’s rich housing history is key to unlocking the potential of high-quality new housing that the capital so desperately deserves. We are looking forward to analysing meaningful POE research through the lens of lived experience and sharing with you all. Stay tuned.

The White Flats

Camera: Anna Price and Marc Silver

Music: Tara Creme

Producers: ​Jo McCafferty (Levitt Bernstein) and Rachel Stevenson (David Miller Architects)

Director: ​Anna Price