Three-quarters of local authorities have no access to architectural advice and 40% have no support on urban design matters, according to new figures. Almost two-thirds have no landscape advice.

Such is the “snail’s pace” of progress that it will be more than 50 years before every local planning authority in England has at least one urban design officer, a study by the Place Alliance suggests.

The statistics, published today, raise questions about the ability of councils to implement and enforce the government’s beauty agenda which was relaunched this week.

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