Building for a Healthy Life

When designing new and growing neighbourhoods – five things you should do to achieve a high score for Building for a Healthy Life.

The Building for a Health Life (BHL) standard has a rigour to it, requiring the pursuit of exemplary design standards. For example, it might require client and their design team to challenge local authorities who are not consistently applying Manual for Streets, or require them to deliver a more specific character than usual and/or to work as integrated team across architecture and landscape early on.

In advance of the soon to be BHL updated guidance and the revised national design guide this autumn (2025) here are five things you should do to begin to be confident of getting twelve green lights.

1. Evidence strategies for movement, landscape and access to facilities and services that take you across the site boundary. Provide clear diagrams/drawings of the site proposals in context. E.g. demonstrate how families can walk to a primary school? Will influence score for BHL 1, 2, 3 and 5.
2. Show that you have walked the site and drawn on what’s distinctive in developing your approach to character. Find what’s inspiring locally or in relevant precedents in relation to architecture, landscape and boundaries. Don’t reference generic development nearby to justify more of the same. Will influence score for BHL 5, 6, 11 and 12.
3. Adopt best practice in relation to street design and parking integration. Use tight corner radii and enable 20mph speeds. Generally, make sure turning circle geometries don’t dominate the place qualities of streets and spaces. Follow ‘Parking, What Works Where’ – using diverse parking solutions that use land efficiently. Will influence score for BHL 7, 8, 9 and 10.
4. Include trees, SuDS, seating and play on the way in streets. Trees positions should be robust, contribute to street character and shouldn’t be conveyed to individual occupiers. Micro social places to sit, play and/or be in the shade should be found at regular intervals. Will influence score for BHL 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11.
5. Have a proactive design approach to apartment buildings as well as generally integrating different tenures, use these to contribute positively to character. Make sure they have good access to considered private outdoor amenity e.g. garden spaces and balconies. Will influence score for BHL 4, 6, and 12.

A weak response to any of the above could impact scores across several of the 12 points. In addition (or above all) a clear design concept and a legible structuring of streets and spaces should be demonstrated.

Here is the current BHL guide and some companion guidance:

• Building for a Health Life, A Design Toolkit, 2020
• Streets for a Health Life, 2022
• Car Parking: What Works Where, 2025

In 2022 and 2023 – the standards authors and assessors gave these in-depth overviews for Homes England recorded here on YouTube:

• Building for a Healthy Life 1 – Introduction – 2022 Summer Learning Programme
• Building for a Healthy Life 2 – Case Studies and Applications – 2022 Summer Learning Programme
• Building for a Healthy Life Practical Implementation – Winter Learning Programme 2023

Image _ Rural and Suburban Housing, Pollard Thomas Edwards

… … …

August, 2025