Highways England Strategic Design Panel shares initial findings

The initial findings of a panel exploring design best practice for Highways England’s many road improvement projects has been published.

According to the Highways England Strategic Design Panel progress report, a Good Design Guide is long overdue, while a comprehensive overhaul of the internationally referenced Design Manual for Roads and Bridges is desperately needed.

First established in June 2015, the Strategic Design Panel has made design best practice a priority. All road improvement projects should be built atop a foundation of good design, and the panel is now exploring ways in which to make improvements. These initial findings coincide with Highways England delivery of the biggest programme of government investment in a generation.

Mike Wilson, Chief Highway Engineer at Highways England, had this to say: “As we continue to successfully deliver the first Road Investment Strategy, I share the aspiration that as well as our roads being safe, efficient and affordable, that they are also beautiful. I do not underestimate the challenge of this; it requires a culture shift for Highways England and the wider roads sector. We will now review the recommendations and provide an update in due course.”

Panel members come from a range of disciplines and represent those who have a vested interest in the design of the Strategic Road Network, including:

• Campaign for Better Transport
• Design Council/Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE)
• Transport Focus
• Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation
• Institution of Civil Engineers
• Landscape Institute
• Historic England
• The Prince’s Foundation
• Institution of Structural Engineers
• Royal Institute of British Architects
• Campaign to Protect Rural England
• Natural England
• National Trust

Sarah Weir, Chief Executive of The Design Council, was on-hand to explain more: “The design panel’s report sets a design challenge for Highways England that puts design processes and thinking at the heart of the planning and development of the strategic road network. The Design Council fully endorses the Design Vision and comprehensive ’10 Principles of Good Design’ and welcomes the focus on valuing both the beauty of the places through which roads pass and the experience of people that live with and use road infrastructure.”

Phil Carey, Policy Advisor to Transport Focus, added: “As the Panel’s report makes clear, at the heart of good design must be a road that works well for users – one that puts safety first, is easy to use, and is as far as possible a pleasure to travel on.”

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