At the beginning of February the TCPA welcomes its new Chief Executive, Fiona Howie, into post, marking a new and exciting chapter in the life of the Association. It's normal to offer some advice to new members of staff, but apart from the usual warning about not visiting the TCPA library on a full moon I'm not sure there is much wisdom to impart. This is such an extraordinary political time in which so much energy has been devoted to such an unproductive enterprise. Whatever the outcome of Brexit, we will be a diminished nation - more divided and bad tempered, less clear about the future. But even in this low ebb of national life there is still a hunger for solutions; still an interest in how our communities can be made liveable, more humane, and more efficient. This desire is thrown into sharp relief against a backdrop of multiple failures by government to address the key challenges facing us as a nation and offer a story of hopefulness about our future collective life. It is still bizarre that the government can, on the one hand, announce a commission on beauty in design and on the other extend permitted development.
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