This week it became clear after many weeks of uncertainty that a slimmed down CABE is to merge with the Design Council.
Since its creation over a decade ago CABE has been a major influence in raising public awareness of the importance of good design of public space, and the LI put considerable effort into lobbying for it to continue its valuable work in a some form. We backed the merger with the Design Council last November because we were persuaded that no other arrangement could reliably provide genuinely independent advice to developers and local authorities. Details of the new organisation have yet to be published. Though we are very sorry indeed to see CABE in its present form disappear, we will be working closely with the revamped Design Council to ensure that the quality of public space continues to be major focus.
Since the general election last May we have been raising our voice to try and reduce the enormous burden of red tape which now accompanies many public tenders. It is bad enough that the volume of public commissioning has been so drastically cut back, but when practices find that they are unable to bid even for the reduced volumes of work, which are still on offer because the demands and complexity of the procurement system are so onerous, it simply adds insult to injury.
There is a possibility that one outcome of the localism agenda in England will be to reduce these burdens, but in the meantime we have been consistently urging this point with various government departments, including Lord Marland’s review of how to cut red tape (for the Department of Energy and Climate Change) the Department of Communities and Local Government. One of the matters we have raised is the overuse of OJEU criteria by many public authorities – essentially, it seems, because it is easier for them to manage a one-size-fits-all tendering system.
Now even the EU Commission has recognised that the public procurement system it set up with the intention of opening up markets is not always having the effect it intended. It is consulting on possible changes, with the intention of seeing whether the system can be made simpler and more user-friendly. We have invited all registered practices to send in their views and suggestions and will be responding in due course.
A continuing public advocate for the value of public space and a potentially simplified tendering system are welcome pieces of news in an otherwise somewhat bleak outlook for the year ahead. The latest forecasts for the construction sector are variable, indicating some grounds for optimism in the south of England, but with some likelihood of further contraction in other parts of the UK.
Across the construction sector as a whole, tender prices rose by 0.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2010 according to RICS – the first annual price increases since 2008. However employment dropped by one per cent. New work output rose by five per cent in Q3 2010 compared with the previous quarter and 22 per cent compared with Q3 2009, but is expected to fall slightly again in 2011.
The reports we receive from individual practices continue to show a very mixed pattern with a high degree of uncertainty. As we launch our ‘Why Invest in Landscape?’ campaign we will be arguing the case for why landscape matters. Please ask (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you need copies of the leaflet for your own practice.