The Balfron Tower was once derided as an ugly building but it now has its fans (Image: Getty)
Ugly buildings are fuelling Britain’s loneliness epidemic and half the country thinks architects are “out of touch” with ordinary people, a major report warns today.
There is a clear link between shabby surroundings and isolation which can make everyday life a misery, according to the Centre for Social Justice.
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It warns that the Labour Government risks building its way into the “social problems of the future” if its drive for 1.5million new homes results in the construction of eyesores.
The experts are confident that the housing crisis and the country’s loneliness crisis can be tackled if planners create beautiful communities where friendships can form more easily.
Loneliness, the report warns, is a “public health emergency” and the impact is comparable to “smoking, obesity and physical inactivity”.
Nearly six in 10 adults feel lonely at least some of the time – the equivalent of around 32 million people.
But the research shows the danger of loneliness is radically reduced if you live in a more pleasant environment.
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Fifty-nine per cent of adults with access to green space said they had no feelings of loneliness. More than a quarter of Britons who felt lonely often did not think their home was a “nice building”.
Three in 10 adults say that buildings where they live are “generally ugly” and 49 per cent believe that architects and planners are “out of touch with what local people want the community to look like”.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner triggered controversy this summer when she criticised the previous Government’s requirement for new housing developments to be “beautiful”. She said that term “means nothing really”.
The report warns that “people don’t want soulless copy and paste developments that could be found anywhere in the world, but homes that fit with the character and history of a community, that foster a sense of belonging, happiness and pride”. The CSJ is urging the Government not to remove references to beauty in the National Planning Policy Framework.
There is widespread concern not just about the lack of available housing in the UK but the quality of many homes. Last month east London council Newham was given the worst possible rating by the Regulator of Social Housing, with at least one in five properties not meeting the “decent homes standard”.
Construction projects which bring ugliness into the heart of towns and cities regularly come under fire. The “Carbuncle Cup” for the “worst new building in Britain” this year went to Liverpool’s Lime Street redevelopment.
The building, which features sheet metal cladding and contains a supermarket and restaurants, was described by the chairman of Merseyside Civic Society as “disgrace to the city”.
However, buildings that once had a notorious reputation can become cherished landmarks.
The Balfron Tower in London’s Tower Hamlets was once dubbed “Britain’s ugliest building” but is now admired by some as a masterpiece of “brutalism”. One-bedroom flats in the tower are rented out for more than ￡2,000 a month.
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Josh Nicholson of the CSJ said: “The Government needs to ask itself: what legacy do we want to leave behind? The country urgently needs more homes, but this should not mean cutting corners, degrading the built environment or concreting over green community space.
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“Ministers must engage with the public’s concerns over ugly new development, or they risk worsening the social problems of the future, including loneliness.
“Development is not just an economic issue, but involves the creation of happy, connected and stable communities. Architects and planners must avoid the mistakes of the past by prioritising beauty, design, and green space in the built environment.”
A spokeswoman for the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Well-designed homes and public spaces are important for individual wellbeing and promoting social interaction in communities. That’s why we will further develop design codes to ensure we build more homes and places that are high-quality, well-designed, and sustainable.”