Roundtable: What is good growth?

As you know Suffolk Design is a major initiative by all the local authorities in Suffolk, supported by funding from the Ministry of Housing, Local Government and Communities, to improve design quality in the built environment. Over the next year we will be working to produce design guidance to help developers, designers and planners work together to help the County grow and make it fit for the future while maintaining its unique qualities and identity. Alongside this will be programme of learning and networking events.

We are now entering an intense period of discussion as we seek to gather the views of key stakeholders in the built and natural environment of Suffolk. We are planning four roundtables where leading individuals will meet to debate hot topics about the future development of Suffolk and two major workshops where a wide range of people working in the built environment will come together to build a consensus about design objectives for the County and how we work together to achieve them. All these discussions will help shape the design guidance. Alongside these there will be online surveys and engagement with the wider Suffolk public. The first of these online surveys can be found on the website.

The first roundtable event will focus on planning for growth in Suffolk. Unless we know ‘what’ good growth is; we cannot plan for it. But in the context of Suffolk, a county of real diversity; what is good growth? Can we agree one definition, or do we need to evolve a number of definitions to reflect the differences in context across the county?

The discussion will be held under the Chatham House rule. This is an invitation only event and availability is very limited therefore we advise that you RSVP as soon as possible.