The panel was set
up to support the development of a culture where
good design is at the heart of everything within Highways
England and the wider road sector. This coincides with
Highways England delivering the biggest programme of
Government investment in a generation. The panel’s focus
is on strategic input rather than scheme specific
details, targeting where its expertise, insight and
guidance will have most positive impact and wider benefit
such as standards, procurement and evaluation.
Highways England Chief Highway Engineer Mike Wilson said:
As we continue to successfully deliver the first Road
Investment Strategy, I share the aspiration that as
well as our roads being safe, efficient and affordable,
that they are also beautiful. I do not underestimate
the challenge of this; it requires a culture shift for
Highways England and the wider roads sector. We will
now review the recommendations and provide an update in
due course.
The Panel has made the following key recommendations:
- Highways England should publish the design vision and
principles recommended by the Panel and should work to
develop a Good Design Guide.
- Highways England should ensure that its design vision
and principles are implemented effectively and that the
Good Design Guide becomes a practical tool across its
projects and wider operations.
- Highways England should establish a specific
objective aimed at ensuring that a design led approach,
as set out in the design vision and principles, is at the
heart of the review of the Design Manual for Roads and
Bridges.
The panel members come from a range of disciplines and
represent stakeholders who have a passionate interest in
the design of the Strategic Road Network:
- Campaign for Better Transport
- Design Council/Commission for Architecture and the
Built Environment (CABE)
- Transport Focus
- Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation
- Institution of Civil Engineers
- Landscape Institute
- Historic England
- The Prince’s Foundation
- Institution of Structural Engineers
- Royal Institute of British Architects
- Campaign to Protect Rural England
- Natural England
- National Trust
Sarah Weir OBE, Chief Executive, Design Council said:
Highways England are to be congratulated on the
approach they have taken in establishing its Design
Panel and having it focus on the strategic aspects of
design, and we are delighted to have contributed to its
work and proud to be a part of it. The Design Panel’s
report sets a design challenge for Highways England
that puts design processes and thinking at the heart of
the planning and development of the strategic road
network. The Design Council fully endorses the Design
Vision and comprehensive ’10 Principles of Good Design’
and welcomes the focus on valuing both the beauty of
the places through which roads pass and the experience
of people that live with and use road infrastructure.
The Design Council supports Highways England’s use of
these principles through its planned Good Design Guide
for the review of it’s overarching Design Manual, and
encourages Highways England to use these as the means
by which designs for future road infrastructure are
measured, so that the full benefits of good design can
be released through their work.
Phil Carey, Policy Advisor to Transport Focus, said:
As the Panel’s report makes clear, at the heart of good
design must be a road that works well for users - one
that puts safety first, is easy to use, and is as far
as possible a pleasure to travel on.
Clare Warburton, Senior advisor for Transport at Natural
England and one of the report authors said:
Consideration for communities, the natural beauty and
character of places as well as their surrounding
landscapes in road design, is essential if we are to
create a lasting, resilient transport legacy that
contributes positively to the natural environment.
Ian Wilson, Assistant Director Operations (South West),
National Trust, said:
The National Trust is hugely supportive of Highways
England’s emphasis on improving the design and
environmental standards of our roads. Building or
improving roads in sensitive landscapes such as World
Heritage Sites or AONBs is not easy. We are delighted
to be working with Highways England and other partners
to lift the standard of design and ensure that our
roads function well and respect the places and
communities through which they pass.
