CABE to merge with Design Council from 1 April 2011

     

CABE, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment is due to merge with the Design Council in April. It's not clear yet what they will be called...CABED maybe?!


The new organisation will 'speak with one voice to support a broad spectrum of design, architecture and public space. It will be government’s advisor on design in business innovation and the built environment....

The organisation will have a particular focus on achieving good design at a local level. The chair of CABE, Paul Finch, said it will place architecture ‘at the heart of the economy as a driver for competitive businesses and places’.

CABE’s design review service, which provides expert advice to councils, developers and communities through reviews of major proposed projects, will continue at a national and local level. Promotion of the value of good building and spatial design to businesses and communities will continue. There will be a strong focus on securing good design in neighbourhood planning.

The Design Council name and status as a Royal Charter charity will be unaffected, and it will cease to be a non-departmental public body (NDPB) from 1 April.

The merger will save public money and provide scope for additional industry investment. The Design Council will continue to be financed through a combination of sources, including grants from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), confirmed until April 2013.

The new organisational structure for the Design Council and roles for CABE staff will be confirmed once staff consultations have been completed.

Some background to the merger: The government’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) in October 2010 saw massive reductions across the public sector. Although CABE had passed the Public Bodies Review, it was unable to continue as a stand-alone organisation following unexpected withdrawal of funding by the Department of Culture. The Design Council had also had a tough time in the CSR, and the two chief executives concluded that joining the two organisations could create one that was stronger as well as providing a single voice for design and the built environment. The decision to go ahead with the merger was taken by government.'

To read the press release visit this link:

http://www.cabe.org.uk/news/cabe-and-design-council-merger