Shapps gets public to help decide best new homes

Housing minister Grant Shapps has ordered that residents in and around new developments get to help decide which homes win the government’s annual housing awards.

Residents will be consulted on how successful they think nominated housing schemes are before the winners are decided, in a break from previous years. It will be the first time the awards, which have now been running for 50 years, are not selected solely by fellow professionals.

Shapps said: “I look forward to seeing the designs that make this year’s shortlist, and showcase how communities, working with industry, councils and other local organisations, can lead the way in making sure their streets feel like home.”

Shapps is understood to have felt the awards needed independent verification that designs were meeting the needs of the general public rather than just industry professionals.

Residents of short-listed schemes and representatives of the community will be formally interviewed and their thoughts recorded on camera. They will also be invited to talk to judges. Entrants to the awards will need to supply details of how they engaged with the community during the design and planning stages to demonstrate how they would tackle the localism agenda.

The Housing Design Awards are supported by the RICS, the RIBA, the Royal Town Planning Institute, and the National House Building Council.

The award, which was won by architect Fielden Clegg Bradley with housebuilder Crest Nicholson last year, is now open for entries.