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Thames Gateway design pact

A formal commitment to good quality design, to enable the Thames Gateway to become a more sustainable place, as well as a great place to live.

The draft Thames Gateway design pact set out the standards and approaches to development that must be adopted to ensure the delivery of high-quality places in the Thames Gateway.

About the design pact

The design pact was drafted as a formal commitment between the government, regional development agencies, local delivery vehicles, local authorities, registered social landlords and private developers in the Gateway.

It was to be a consistent policy relating to the quality of design in the Gateway, and set out how those delivering development in the gateway could work together to achieve this ambition.

The design pact had two key principles:

  1. Invest in quality
  2. Understand and enhance the identity of the Thames Gateway.

Background

In November 2007, the government’s Thames Gateway delivery plan made a commitment to produce a design pact, to enable the area to meet its ambition to be an international exemplar of sustainable development and a great place to live.

We published the draft Thames Gateway design pact in August 2008. It called for a unifying commitment to design quality for the Gateway region.

The pact was developed by CABE on behalf of Communities and Local Government (CLG) in consultation with organisations across sectors and across the Gateway.

CABE has carried out extensive consultation on the draft Thames Gateway design pact, and received a positive response (70 per cent of respondents supported the pact’s principles).

Purpose of the design pact

The design pact aimed to help unlock the delivery of more homes, in the present rather than at some point in the future.

It also aimed to provide absolute clarity about the actions needed to transform the quality of the Gateway, recognising that this is a phenomenal place - where a global city meets a great estuary - and that we cannot afford to miss this opportunity.

The pact

  • recognised the role that design plays in shaping quality of life, stimulating economic development and encouraging innovation and enterprise
  • sought a shared sense of direction on design quality and outlines what each organisation must do
  • represented a shared commitment by all signatories to make a step change in raising the standards of design quality in the Gateway.