Tens years on: has the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act been the change we needed to see in Wales?

Nick Durham, Architect director at multidisciplinary design practice BDP

It’s a decade since Wales led the way globally in enshrining into law its Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, providing a legally-binding common purpose – the 7 well-being goals – for national government, local government, local health boards and other public bodies.

The ambition was to make the public bodies “think more about the long-term, work better with people and communities and each other, look to prevent problems and take a more joined-up approach”.

In 2019, I wrote a piece about the opportunities that the act might present to the construction sector.  A lot has happened in the last five years to change how we think about both the present and future, and it’s important that we ask ourselves whether we have embraced the opportunities and been ambitious enough in our response.

Recent reports from the Future Generations Commissioner and the Welsh Audit Office suggest that there is still a long way to go, but where have we been successful, and what needs to change in the next 10 years?

Evidence

There is good evidence that the act has influenced development decisions within the public sector with a greater focus on climate resilience, community infrastructure and social benefits. A 100% affordable housing project at Brokesby Road in Swansea and Canolfan Pentre Awel, the largest regeneration project in southwest Wales, are both excellent examples of schemes helping to create a prosperous, resilient, more equal, healthier and globally responsible Wales, in line with the act.

A low carbon project set to be built using Welsh timber, the vision for Brokesby Road is focused on creating a strong sense of place, not an isolated estate, by developing a neighbourhood fully integrated with the existing surrounding community, with plenty of opportunities to connect with nature.

A network of active travel paths, encouraging walking, running, and cycling are integral, with areas to play as well as relax and socialise.

Meanwhile, by integrating healthcare, education, and community services at the 83-acre Delta Lakes site on the Llanelli coastline, Pentre Awel tackles global challenges like health inequality, access to care, and inclusive economic growth.

The project is estimated to create over 1,800 jobs and training/apprenticeship opportunities and is expected to boost the local economy by over £400million over a 15-year period. Biodiversity enhancements will support local wildlife, whilst the concept of bringing ‘outside inside’ is embraced through a series of sensory gardens and high-quality public realm promoting physical and mental wellbeing.

Anecdotally, these projects and others like them will certainly have a positive, tangible impact on the communities they serve. But how do we measure progress in terms of the bigger picture in Wales? Is the Act driving systemic change?

This is tricker to ascertain and Derek Walker, Wales’ Future Generations Commissioner, told the BBC he has been ‘frustrated at progress’ and that Wales faces ‘an unrecognisable future’ without urgent action to protect the environment, tackle poverty and ill health. His recently published report – the recommendations of which Welsh government said it would review carefully – provides advice on the actions needed.

A second report by the Wales Audit Office found the act was not driving the system-wide change that was intended and singled out the health system as needing particular improvement. The report notes that there is strong support for the act across the public sector in Wales but with ever tightening budgets, it’s easy to appreciate why public sector bodies feel that they need to focus on present, often urgent, needs rather than those of future generations.

The report suggests that leadership approaches across public sector organisations need to change, and this presents an opportunity to improve connectivity between healthcare, education, social services providers and the communities they serve.  With limited funding available for capital development, it would seem sensible to ensure we are getting the most value from every pound spent in Wales.

Infrastructure

As a multi-disciplinary design practice working on projects from city wide infrastructure to hospitals, schools and housing, we’ve already seen some big steps in key areas. For example, Wales is leading the way in sustainable drainage systems.

Think rainwater gardens that collect, clean and store water before it re-enters the waterways, promoting biodiversity and creating greener streets and neighbourhoods.  On the other hand, we can see more needs to be done to encourage investment in Net Biodiversity Benefit (NBB), possibly by increasing involvement from local communities who will ultimately benefit from key decisions.

The resilience of the property and construction sector is probably worse than it was a decade ago.

I shine the spotlight on this sector as of course it’s where my experience lies but a robust and sustainable construction sector is essential to help deliver the prosperity for Wales that the Act demands.

For example, could more be done to encourage community engagement in the procurement process for social infrastructure projects, helping to develop a sense of ownership and ensure that projects are delivering against the wellbeing goals?

At BDP, our approach to design a world that is ‘built for good’, is already embedded into everything we do. So, you could argue the act has cemented our approach to thoughtfully designing schools, hospitals and homes in Wales, but it is one that we apply instinctively to all our work around the UK and indeed the world. See our The Good City initiative for more on this topic.

We are proud to have played our part in projects such as Brokesby Road and Pentre Awel; but most importantly we believe that these projects will genuinely have a positive impact on the communities they serve and it is reassuring to see that this is the direction of travel in Wales, even if there is still plenty more progress to make.