A practical guide to landscaping new housing developments has been produced by the New Homes Marketing Board(*). The author is Professor Chris Barnes, who points out that when most people choose a new home the leafiness of its surroundings, the privacy of its garden and the view from the windows can be as important as the design of the house, the convenience of the location and the price itself”.
Housebuilding has a dramatic impact on the landscape. If handled badly then the effect can be devastating. If handled skilfully, new housing can be a positive process. This means, the booklet explains, careful concern for the existing landscape, appropriate new planting, careful lighting and signing, adequate provision for such things as children’s play areas and a mechanism for long-term management of the developing landscape.
(*) Landscapes for new housing: the builders manual. New Homes Marketing Board, 88 New Cavendish Street, London W1M 8AD.£15.
