Politics

Newbuild homes should have access to a fruit tree to reconnect children with nature, report says


EVERY newbuild home should come with access to a fruit tree in a bid to reconnect children with the sources of their food, a government-backed report has suggested.

Bird and bee boxes should also be included in the design of newbuild homes, according to the final report by the Building Better Building Beautiful Commission.

 Eavery newbuild home should have access to a fruit tree to reconnect kids with nature, a report says

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Eavery newbuild home should have access to a fruit tree to reconnect kids with nature, a report saysCredit: Getty Images – Getty

The report contains over 130 practical recommendations that will guide the Government’s reforms of the planning system that will ensure future homes boost people’s quality of life.

The Commission was co-chaired by the influential former government adviser Sir Roger Scruton, who died earlier this month from cancer.

The findings of the report, to be launched by his co-chair Nicholas Boys Smith, also urges the Government to open old canals as part of initiatives to connect communities to nature and the outdoors.

And recommends increasing the use of digital technology like virtual reality and 3D modelling to help locals shape their own areas.

‘BEAUTIFUL HOMES’

The Commission wants the Government to support a programme of housebuilding that will see a surge in urban orchards planted in our towns and cities.

It also wants local councils to require developers to ensure every new home has its own fruit tree – either on its property or access to it via communal green spaces.

It says this will help “reconnect children with nature and with the sources of their food”.

The findings were endorsed by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick, who in a speech today will say “beautiful, high-quality homes must become the norm, not the exception”.

Mr Boys Smith said: “Most new developments in this country are mediocre or poor. All around us we see ugly and unadaptable buildings, decaying neighbourhoods and new estates.

“We are scarring our country. But why? Working with the greatly missed Roger Scruton, the Commission has spent a year examining the planning and development system in great depth.

“We’ve asked how do people want to live, where do they flourish? Why does the planning system and development market not deliver them?

“The consistent sense of frustration at most of what we’re building was painful. In the report we will call for nothing less than a new development and planning framework.”

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