Pilot scheme to improve high streets and public spaces launched
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has launched a new initiative to help improve the quality of high streets and public spaces across the capital. The Town Architects programme, a two-year pilot scheme, will see ten built environment experts assist London’s boroughs in shaping better urban spaces, supporting the Mayor’s £1.25m Local Growth Capacity Support Programme.
The programme aims to empower local authorities to create safe, inclusive, and sustainable neighbourhoods by providing access to skilled planners and architects. This initiative builds on the Mayor’s commitment to fostering economic growth and ensuring that London’s growth benefits all its residents.
London’s high streets have faced increasing challenges in recent years, with the need to revitalise these spaces becoming more urgent. Data from City Hall highlights a significant demand for knowledge-sharing and upskilling among local planning teams, who often struggle to promote development and growth in their areas.
The selected experts, known as ‘Town Architects,’ will work directly with Chief Placeshaping Officers and Design Champions in local boroughs. Their role will include reviewing project proposals, providing design advice, and helping to develop a strategic vision for each area. The Town Architects are drawn from the Mayor’s panel of Design Advocates, experts in architecture, master planning, high streets, public realm, and design quality management.
This initiative aligns with the Mayor’s Good Growth by Design principles, which seek to ensure that development in London is both economically and socially inclusive, as well as sustainable. By supporting boroughs with expert guidance, the Town Architects will help enhance the in-house skills needed to create quality spaces that serve the needs of all Londoners.
The pilot programme represents a crucial step toward addressing the capacity gaps in urban design and ensuring that London’s public spaces evolve to meet the needs of its diverse population.
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