The promotion of sustainable development principles through the design review process : the case of the Cambridgeshire Quality Panel

The quest to deliver sustainable development has led to a search for ways to engage all stakeholders in this collective endeavour. Currently, local planners across England and elsewhere use independent design review panels to help raise the design quality of new developments. This paper examines the extent to which such panels can instill the need to adhere to sustainable development principles. We focus on the Cambridgeshire Quality Panel, which has framed its review process around sustainable development principles, named the “4 Cs”: community, connectivity, climate, and character. Situating the panel’s work within a design governance framework, we scrutinise the value and limitations of this particular governance tool. We conclude that local planners’ ability to take forward the panel’s recommendations on delivering new developments to high sustainability standards remains problematic, compromised by national priorities and market decisions.