Create Streets Foundation

England has plenty of beauty. We just tore down lots of it too (Southsea, London, Bournemouth, Blackburn).

In a 2023 study, naturally not very large, it was found that elderly who moved from other forms of housing into traditional almshouses lived on average up to 2.5 years longer than their peers in other forms of housing. The effect was especially pronounced with elderly from the lowest one fifth of socio-economic status, who lived as long as other elderly from the second highest fifth. There is no telling how much is cause or correlation but the effect is real, measurable and easily observed. The theory is that companionship, meaning, belonging and so on, is what causes the jump in longevity. The effect is similar taking up regular exercise and quitting smoking. And almshouses are far more cost effective than other forms of housing for elderly. We should build more of them.

Here are two railway stations in Cambridgeshire. March Railway Station (on the right) was Victorian, first opened in 1847. Waterbeach (on the left) is due to open in 2028. This is not progress or enhanced prosperity. The collapse in design quality is clearly profound and goes far beyond aesthetics to issues of civic pride, place-attraction and corporate duty. No one involved in the design of Waterbeach Station should be allowed anywhere near the design of any public building or place.

South Tottenham is a neighbourhood of North London, whose inhabitants have been campaigning for years for the right to extend their houses upwards, subject to a strict design code. A small part of South Tottenham (in Haringey) won this right some years ago, and its residents have been merrily building upwards ever since. As you can see, it has been done very intelligently: once the transition is finished, the neighbourhood will just look as though it was designed with 3.5 storeys in the nineteenth century. The good news is that another big area of South Tottenham (in Hackney) has recently won similar rights. This is a precedent that much of urban England could follow. Congratulations to the local community, whose extreme perseverance has made this possible!

“There is a great organisation called Create Streets looking into this!” Seeing is believing when it comes to reversing the decline of Britain’s high streets. That’s why we are working with councils across the country to create dedicated shopfront design codes, as @dantomlinsonmp, Minister for Growth, just drew attention to on a panel at #Lab26.

To mark its centenary, we’re restoring the K2 phone box on the Albert Bridge, having acquired it from BT. The K2 arose from a competition run by the Royal Fine Art Commission and won by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (who also designed Battersea Power Station, visible in the distance).

This new build near Holborn continues the old tradition of putting the construction date on the drainpipes.