David Thompson, past chair RIBA East

“Good ideas take time to take root. It used to be said that the pronouncements of poets would appear as prose – or policy – a generation later. We do not have the luxury of 30 or 40 years to mull over how to accommodate growth in our Region. We do, however, have the ‘benefit’ of the unexpected circumstance of a market-enforced slowdown: a benefit to the extent only that it gives those schemes still moving forward a time for reflection.

I would urge all project sponsors, promoters, developers and design professionals involved in giving shape to new schemes to take advantage of Inspire East’s Design Review service. Other Regions have found the service effective in raising quality, raising aspiration and raising value. To expose concepts – especially at an early stage – to an informed ‘sounding board’, and to a Panel that has the experience of schemes across the Region (and beyond) should be welcomed.  

Whilst appearance before an Inspire East Design Review Panel is not mandatory, nor comments legally binding as ‘planning conditions’, it is undeniable that the reactions of the Panel carry weight and may well support a creative, or a courageous scheme, in its passage through the planning process.”

David Thompson Past Chair RIBAEast

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