Better design could reduce opposition to new housing, says Michael Gove

‘If places have no heart and soul, levelling up will falter’

Levelling up secretary says new developments must have a good urban character (PA)

Opposition to new housing developments could be reduced if there was a greater focus on design, Michael Gove has suggested.

The levelling up secretary hit out at “indifferent or insipid” planning and suggested that the potential of some public spaces was being squandered as a result of poor design and maintenance.

His comments came in the foreword to a report by the Policy Exchange think tank arguing for the creation of a new national school of urban design and architecture.