PROPERTY & ASSETS


Property goes back to the future


By Jon Millhouse, Director at Planning & Design Practice, Chartered Town Planner and Member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation


Good ideas have a habit of coming back around. At the turn of the 20th Century, the most popular form of house building was terraced housing. As a concept, it was simple, yet effective. It didn’t require much land take,


yet each household was usually allocated a decent amount of internal accommodation and garden. There was typically a shop on the corner of every street, or a pub; with schools and work usually within walking distance. People travelled further afield by bicycle or tram. Later, as cars became the


dominant mode of transport and the aspiration for most families, our built environment changed too. Rows of terraced houses were swept away to accommodate new roads. The terraced streets that did survive became car-dominated. The type of housing we began to build, and continue to build to this day, is designed around the car – low density detached housing with driveways and garages. As we face the challenges of


tackling climate change, and building enough houses to accommodate our population without having to pave over our


treasured countryside, reverting to terraced housing, but in a manner fit for the 21st Century, could be part of the solution. Many aspects suit modern needs.


Having only two (narrow) walls exposed to the outside world rather than four significantly reduces heat loss. Higher densities mean we can create walkable and cyclable neighbourhoods, reducing reliance on the car. Small convenience food stores,


micropubs and trams are coming back into fashion. Fewer cars mean quieter streets, where children can play, and residents can interact, helping address the problem of social isolation. Much can be learned from the


past, but we shouldn’t assume that in re-adopting an old house type, we have to accept its historic limitations. Modern terraced housing can be better insulated, better lit and more spacious than its predecessors. We can generate heat and power through microgeneration, rather than coal. With such mod cons, terraced houses can once again become the kind of property that developers want to build, and that people want to live in.


business network February 2020 95


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