Quality of place matters; it provides the structure through which communities grow and it strengthens local economies. The transformation of places as different as Sheffield and Cambridge show that often public sector leaders manage to deliver quality of place despite limited resources. So, is delivering quality a question of leadership rather than resources, and if so what are the current pressures on leaders and how might they be overcome?
This subject was debated by leaders from local government at a Design South East roundtable held the House of Lords and chaired by Lord Bob Kerslake. With invited participants from local authorities across London and the wider south east, Lord Kerslake led a discussion that drew out the pressure’s leaders face, the actions they are taking to deliver quality in the face of new housing challenges and limited access to borrowing and the opportunities that devolution and other developments provide.