Schoolchildren need to be taught about architecture so they have the skills to engage with the planning process, the boss of the UK’s largest listed landlord has said.

Helen Gordon, chief executive of Grainger, said in areas of the country earmarked for large-scale developments, the built environment should be put on the school curriculum or taught through local organisations as a matter of priority.

She was speaking at the government’s Design Quality Conference yesterday in a session chaired by RIBA president Ben Derbyshire. She was responding to remarks by housebuilding boss Tony Pidgley who said Berkeley Homes spent money “training” residents on estates they were redeveloping such as Woodberry Down in Finsbury Park, north London.