Well-Designed Places

Well-Designed Places Development proposals should contribute to high-quality places. Well-designed development will be achieved by ensuring all the following criteria, where applicable, are satisfactorily addressed. To demonstrate this, proposals should be accompanied by a Design Statement that assess the site design constraints, explores the design opportunities the site offers and demonstrates how the criteria set out in this policy have been met. Development proposals that are not well-designed will be refused. Development Proposals should: A. Context 1. Demonstrate a sound understanding of the distinct features, history, and culture of the site and its wider context. 2. Relate well to the site and its context, being well-integrated to their surroundings. 3. Be both influenced by, and influence their context positively through their layout, form, density, scale, massing, appearance, access, movement, and landscape. B. Identity 1. Enhance the sense of place, responding to the character and distinctiveness of the site and its context, while not preventing or discouraging appropriate innovation or change. 2. Create a coherent identity that can be widely recognised and identified with. 3. Create high quality, welcoming, attractive, and distinctive places through their layout, form, density, scale, massing, appearance, access and movement networks, and landscape. C. Built Form 1. Use their layout, form, density, scale, massing, appearance, access, movement, and landscape to create high quality places with a recognisable hierarchy of streets and spaces that are walkable, easy to navigate, and memorable, as well as being tenure-neutral and socially inclusive. 2. Enhance existing and frame new internal and external sightlines and views of features and landmarks. 3. Clearly define public and private spaces and have a high standard of amenity and privacy for existing and future users. 4. Deliver effective measures to limit crime, disorder, and the fear of crime. D. Movement 1. Prioritise active travel movements, both in the site and adjoining neighbouring areas. 2. Create a genuine choice of sustainable transport modes, taking account of the diverse needs of all the potential users. 3. Enhance the movement network, creating routes and spaces that are safe, accessible, inclusive, convenient, direct, coherent, comfortable, and attractive, promoting activity and social interaction. 4. Promote opportunities to deliver future connections and do not prejudice the development potential of adjoining land. E. Nature 1. Make best use of existing and incorporate new natural features into a multifunctional network that supports place quality, native biodiversity, water management, and addresses climate change mitigation and resilience. 2. Create a variety of natural and designed landscapes with different functions to support a diverse range of needs, promoting health, wellbeing, and social inclusion. F. Public Spaces 1. Create a hierarchy of public spaces that incorporate natural features and support a wide variety of activities. 2. Include well-located public spaces that encourage social interaction and promote health, wellbeing, social and civic inclusion. 3. Ensure public spaces feel safe, secure, and attractive for all through an active relationship with the enclosing-built form. 4. Prevent the creation of vehicle dominated environments. G. Liveability 1. Optimise the potential of the site and context to create an appropriate mix of uses, including amenities, services, facilities, public transport, and employment opportunities to support healthy life. 2. Promote health and wellbeing by providing a high standard of internal and external environments for their users and surrounding occupiers, satisfactory floor-to-ceiling heights, internal and external storage, sunlight, daylight, air- quality, and ventilation, whilst protecting users from unacceptable levels of noise, pollution, and contamination. Internal layouts should provide for practical and useable space. 3. Meet the highest standards of accessibility and inclusion for potential users regardless of disability, age or gender; H. Resources 1. Use their layout, form, density, scale, massing, appearance, access, movement, and landscape to reduce their resource requirement, including land, materials, energy, and water. 2. Be fit for purpose, function well, and resilient to adaptation over time, adding to the overall quality of the area and limiting need for redevelopment, and incorporate materials and technologies to limit their environmental impact. 3. Plan for the long-term stewardship by communities, landowners, and authorities, ensuring their users can establish a sense of ownership and belonging. DS.18 ~ Development Management Considerations Design Statements should tell the ‘design story’ clearly showing how the proposed design is the outcome of the design process and based on a full understanding and analysis of the unique context at settlement, local and site level (as appropriate). This can be done using a concept statement approach. Useful guidance is set out in Design and Access Statements Guide produced by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment9. Design Statements should also show how pre-application discussions with key stakeholders have influenced the proposed design, including (but not limited to) town or parish councils, civic groups, Police Architectural Liaison Officers, Environment Agency, Historic England, Warwickshire County Council (including Archaeology, Ecology, Highways and other services), and Stratford-on-Avon District Council (including Planning, Conservation and Environmental Health Services). In relation to Part A of this policy ~ Much of the basis of good design is understanding the context of the site. Proposals do not necessarily need to respond physically to the history or culture of the site; but to make informed design choices, the site context must be understood. In relation to Part B of this policy ~ Identity is important in good design to create meaningful and unique environments that build a sense of place and belonging and distinguish places from others. In relation to Part C of this policy ~ Clearly defined public and private areas can help to avoid the conflict that can arise from ambiguity and ensure high standards of both public and private amenity, as well as privacy where it’s needed. This can be achieved with public streets and spaces enclosed by active frontages, careful arrangement of private rear gardens, and the use of suitable boundary treatments to front gardens. In relation to Part C of this policy ~ Careful planning and design create the right conditions for people to feel safe and secure, without the need for additional security measures. These include: • buildings around the edges of a space; • active frontages along its edges, provided by entrances onto the space and windows overlooking it, so that people come and go at different times; • natural surveillance from inside buildings provided by windows and balconies, so that users of the space feel they might be overlooked by people from inside; • reasons for people to enter into the space, for an activity or destination or because it is on a natural line of direction of travel; • risk assessment and mitigation at an early stage of the design process, so security measures can be integrated into positive design features. In relation to Part D of this policy ~ A distinction is drawn between active travel and the broader category of sustainable travel. Active travel includes all modes involving 9 Whilst this document was published pre NPPF , it still contains useful principles to achieving good design. physical activity, including walking, cycling, wheelchair and pushchair use, foot- powered scooters etc. These modes of transport are prioritised. Sustainable travel includes active travel but also covers public transport including bus and rail. In relation to Part D of this policy ~ Enhancement to the movement network should consider all stages of the journey. For example, the benefits of a new cycle path can only be realised if it connects to a wider network; if secure and conveniently located cycle storage is available at new homes; and if appropriate cycle racks are provided at key destinations such as schools, shops, community facilities, places of employment, and public transport interchanges. In relation to Part E of this policy ~ Further detail on multi-functional natural networks can be found in Policies ID.10 and ID.11. In relation to Part F of this policy ~ Public spaces are vital to provide opportunities for people to move, take part in recreation and interact with each other. Public spaces can serve different purposes and come in different sizes, from large parks and civic squares to smaller or more informal spaces such as small playgrounds and street level spaces. Where public spaces are to be incorporated into schemes, it should be identified what purposes those spaces will serve and how they are sited, designed and managed to ensure they deliver for their intended purposes. In relation to Part G of this policy ~ Developments should meet the needs of their intended users and the surrounding communities. This includes considering the practical elements of design to ensure good living conditions for occupiers and surrounding occupiers. In relation to Part H of this policy ~ Guidance on appropriate densities will be set out in relevant Design Codes. In the absence of a Design Code, the density of development should be optimised and appropriate, having regard to Chapter 11 of the NPPF, and the prevailing local character. Policy Justification 2.12.12 Good design is fundamental to good planning. It is a key aspect of sustainable development, and it creates places that positively impact people and the environment. Chapter 12 of the NPPF highlights the importance of good design and states that significant weight should be given to development which reflects local design policies and government guidance on design, and to outstanding or innovative designs which promote high levels of sustainability or help raise the standard of design more generally. Permission should be refused for development of poor design that fails to take the opportunity for improving the character and quality of an area and the way it functions. 2.12.13 This policy applies to all forms of built development. It is necessarily broad, and certain elements of the policy are not relevant to every form of development. Similarly, the information required to demonstrate compliance with the policy will vary depending on the type and scale of development proposed. Early engagement with the Local Planning Authority Development Management Service is encouraged to understand