"Save The Gummer Clause" - by Jeremy Musson & Mary Miers

Robert Adam was recently featured in a Country Life article that outlined the problems of abolishing the planning guideline, PPG7. The guideline was introduced as an exception clause to the construction of isolated new houses in the countryside, on the proviso that the proposal would be 'of the highest quality... truly outstanding in terms of architecture and landscape design, and would significantly enhance its surroundings.' Commonly referred to as 'The Gummer clause' after its founder John Gummer, the last Conservative Secretary of State, the clause could potentially be removed by the government due to the belief that it is inconsistent with the production of more affordable housing in rural areas.

Robert Adam was interviewed alongside George Ferguson, President of the RIBA and Sarah Low, the recipient of the last planning permission granted to build a PPG7 house. Within the article, Adam asserts that far from spoiling the countryside, new country houses are a vital means of sustaining the rural economy and should be looked at positively. The countryside is not a natural wilderness but a man made phenomenon; For centuries, anyone who had acquired money invested in land and built a property in the countryside, thus beginning and developing a tradition of international architectural significance. However, due to the pre-war agricultural slump, a new post-war political mentality, inheritance tax and wartime billeting, the countryside has long faced economic crisis and has had to be subsidised. Adam reminds us that building new country houses provides an opportunity to counteract this trend, bringing investment and employment to the countryside and its communities. New country houses are not by definition going to spoil the English landscape, rather they and their owners provide a possibility of long term security within a landscape in deep crisis.