15 August 2008
Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS) have hosted a summit of neighbouring national bodies and representatives who work to promote excellence in place making. The summit was an opportunity for the representatives from England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland to share experiences and current work.
Those present were the Commission for the Built Environment (CABE) from London, the Design Commission for Wales (DCfW) from Cardiff, the Ministerial Advisory Group (NIMAG) from Belfast and the Department for the Environment (DoEHLG) in Dublin were present. Discussions covered shared issues such as the state of the housing market, planning reform, and developing policies on creating sustainable places.
Chief Executive of A+DS Sebastian Tombs said that "Each of us in our own location is working hard to help improve the quality of design of the built environment - and coming together in this way from time to time really does assist us to benchmark our efforts, learn from each other, and plan how to do more. All of us share the challenges of climate change, demographic change, technological change - and the need to achieve a culture change if we are to grasp the opportunities that quality places can bring to our respective societies. These occasional meetings prime us for tackling these goals, and strengthen us to strive even harder to achieve them”.