Building healthy places
Guidance on construction management processes, design, building safety and infrastructure, Modern Methods of Construction, and self and custom build.
Homes England aims to uphold standards and good practice in areas such as design quality, building safety and sustainability.
Homes England is not responsible for and does not endorse the information provided by any third parties we’ve referenced on this page. We are not promoting one organisation above another. Please see the disclaimer in the GOV.UK terms and conditions. The contents of any Homes England videos we’ve included were applicable at the time of recording; they do not constitute legal advice and are provided for informational purposes only.
Design
Guidance on the essentials of well-designed places and homes.
This includes design guides for new homes and placemaking, as well as information on the nationally described space standard, the use and application of design codes, and the importance of landscaping and nature conservation in design.
Building for a Healthy Life is a new iteration of Building for Life 12, and is a design toolkit for neighbourhoods, streets, homes and public places. It’s produced by Design for Homes in conjunction with the NHS and informed by Homes England.
Homes England has developed 2 videos on Building for a Healthy Life:
- an Introduction to Building for a Healthy Life
- Building for a Healthy Life: Case Studies and Applications
Watch this Homes England video on an introduction to landscape-led design and planning.
Watch this Homes England video on long-term stewardships for large developments.
Watch this Homes England video on delivering public health net gain through design.
The Urban Design Compendium provided guidance on good urban design and applying principles to build successful places.
Building with Nature is a resource that gives planners and developers evidence-based, how-to guidance on delivering good green infrastructure.
The Urban Design Alliance have provided a tool for organisations to identify skills and capacity in relation to urban design.
Read the latest news from the Planning Advisory Service on planning to support design processes.
Infrastructure
Guidance on transport and national infrastructure planning.
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has a series of publications and resources regarding transport and infrastructure planning.
The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) has resources and knowledge areas providing information on transport planning.
The Landscape Institute provides information on landscape design and the art and science of landscape practice.
Construction management
Guidance on the construction management process, including mobilising on-site, construction and hand-over, and dealing with post-completion defects and issues.
Watch this Homes England video on an introduction to building safety.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has resources on construction regulations and managing construction health risks. This includes guidance on the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, which aim to make sure projects are safe to build, use and maintain, and offer good value.
Planning Portal has guidance on planning permission with reasons as to why permission or ‘prior approval’ may be required before demolishing a building.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has a resource titled the RIBA Plan of Work, outlining the process of briefing, designing, constructing and operating building projects.
The Consumer Code for Home Builders’ guidance on warranties provides information on the different types of warranty policies for newly built homes.
Their home builders’ archive contains further guidance on the homebuilding process.
Modern Methods of Construction
Guidance on Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and how it can help deliver better homes at a faster rate.
Watch this Homes England video on an introduction to Modern Methods of Construction.
The National Housing Federation (NHF) has put together guidance on MMC around de-risking sites and how MMC supports social and economic recovery:
Public Practice has compiled a case study based on work carried out for Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service (GCSPS) exploring the use of design codes for developments that use modular construction methods.
The Crown Commercial Service’s Offsite Construction Solutions agreement provides an alternative to traditionally built accommodation, enabling access to Modern Methods of Construction.
Self build and custom build
Guidance on self-build and custom-build housing, how to make building your own home more affordable, and community-led housing (CLH).
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) are supporting the Right to Build Taskforce, a service providing guidance on custom and self-build housing delivery.
Community Led Homes has guidance on community-led housing, with technical and non-technical resources related to community-led housing schemes.
Watch this Homes England video on an introduction to community-led housing.
Last updated 27 November 2023 + show all updates
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Additional Homes England Learning Programme video
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New Homes England video on delivering public health net gain through design
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Removed BC Housing guidance document, Urban Design London resources and the Scottish Place Standard Tool.
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Added video on long-term stewardships for large developments to the Design section, this was moved from the Planning for homebuilding and regeneration page.
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First published.