At Culture Commons, we care deeply about the creative and cultural life of the UK. That’s why we are currently leading an open policy development programme in partnership with 30 major organisations from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

By convening the creative, cultural and heritage sectors, along with local and regional governments and researchers, we’re challenging the overly-centralised decision making we see in this country to really make the best of the ‘devolution revolution’ that’s underway.

Our aim is to help the new UK Government and the devolved governments in the four nations, to empower local leaders and communities to have more say about how culture in their areas develops. This could be setting budgets for culture and deciding what’s being programmed, to reviving and taking ownership of much-loved heritage buildings. We know these activities can enhance the sense of pride that people feel about where they live, but also promote social cohesion and bring economic spillovers that benefit society as a whole.

We don’t have a preconceived notion of how ‘culture’, ‘creativity’ or ‘heritage’ should manifest in a place: that’s something for the communities who live in them to decide. But we do believe that people need physical spaces that allow intercultural dialogues to take place.

We think it’s vitally important that visionary place-shapers like Urban Splash and others are embedded in conversations about cultural policy – the built environment influences the ways in which people experience a place and how their cultural life evolves. Companies like Urban Splash are already helping communities to celebrate the past, make sense of the present and reimagine new futures too.

This approach is perfectly embodied in the transformation of Park Hill in Sheffield, England – deservedly recognised in this year's Stirling Prize shortlist. It’s become something of a regeneration pin-up because of the way Urban Splash has responded so respectfully to both the historical fabric of the building but also the socio-cultural story it represents, reworking iconic elements to make them relevant to the here and now. The scheme has come to symbolise the renewed confidence that Sheffield is now enjoying and has undoubtedly contributed to the upswing in investment and desirability that the city is benefitting from.

The new UK Government under Labour has set a goal to build 1.5 million new homes before the end of their first parliament. That’s a hugely ambitious undertaking, and will need considerable momentum to deliver, but one that is sorely needed: far too many people can’t find affordable places to rent and far too few can get a first foot on the housing ladder. A fresh government will rightly want to don the hard hats and high vis jackets and see shovels in the ground sharpish. But quality and sustainability must be a consideration if we’re to learn the lessons from house building projects of the past.

I see an opportunity now for place-sensitive developers, local authorities and our national governments to come together and collaborate much more closely. We encourage developers to think carefully about how they are incorporating cultural infrastructures into their schemes so that the creative workforce and local communities are able to come together and share in the fullness of their cultural lives. After all, vast swathes of new houses without meaningful cultural spaces for the people that live in them will never truly feel like homes.