§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what comparative studies are being made by his Department concerning acceptable designs of high-density low-rise accommodation, particularly those suitable for areas of urban redevelopment; and if he will take steps to encourage practical advances in this field of public architecture.
§ Mr. FreesonMy Department has surveyed in detail schemes of houses built at high density—70 bed spaces per acre up to 123. These fell into three types: blind-sided two-storey houses, and two and three-storey dual-aspect houses. A survey has also been carried out of estates of walk-up blocks of flats and maisonettes. All these findings will be reported in a design bulletin which is being prepared for publication. From our survey data it appears that schemes of all houses built at densities above about 80 bspa suffer certain disadvantages particularly regarding privacy and noise. At densities of about 110 bspa and above it appears better to include some multi-storey accommodation for childless households if residents' satisfaction is not to decline; and therefore I would not encourage schemes which comprise wholly low-rise housing at such high densities.