Highways England Strategic Design Panel
The Highways England Strategic Design Panel is supporting the company to make a step change in the design quality of the strategic road network.
This change will see that design excellence in landscape, engineering and the built environment is at the heart of Highways England projects. The Panel seeks to ensure the strategic road network displays design quality through being safe, functional and effective, responding positively and sensitively to landscape character, cultural heritage and communities, while also conforming to the principles of sustainable development.
The work of the Panel takes place in the context of the government’s wider road investments and its role is to independently advise Highways England on its approach to implementing projects and day to day operations. While the Panel does not have a statutory function in its own right, its advice and guidance can inform the statutory consent processes.
Highways England seeks advice from the Panel:
- to embed a context led approach into the development of the network
- on the design of road improvements, network management and operations
- on the development of relevant design standards and processes
- as required by the Secretary of State
The Panel takes an integral multi-disciplinary approach that sees design as a way to add value to projects by maximising opportunities and not simply as a mitigation tool. It publishes an annual progress report on its work and oversees the independent design review of individual Highways England projects.
Highways England Strategic Design Panel members:
- Highways England
- Design Council
- Transport Focus
- Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation
- Institution of Civil Engineers
- Landscape Institute
- Historic England
- Connect Places Catapult
- Institution of Structural Engineers
- Royal Institute of British Architects
- Campaign to Protect Rural England
- Campaign for Better Transport
- Natural England
- National Trust