Design & placemaking

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section introduces the South Warwickshire Local Plan, prepared jointly by Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick District Councils to guide where and how new homes, jobs and infrastructure are built up to 2050. It describes an area of 488 square miles, mostly open countryside, containing towns such as Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa. Nearly a third of the area lies in the West Midlands Green Belt and 8% falls within the Cotswolds National Landscape. The area is a gateway to the West Midlands, with its strongest links to Coventry.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section covers the plan's supporting documents and how it will stay up to date. The plan should be read as a whole, and further Supplementary Plans, a separate Design Code and Technical Guidance will follow. Proposals and designations appear on a Policies Map that will be updated periodically. Delivery is tracked through monitoring indicators reported in each council's annual Authority Monitoring Report. The plan will be reviewed every five years from adoption to keep its strategy current.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section lists the full set of mixed-use, leisure, community and town centre allocations under Policy DS.6. They include Tachbrook Country Park, 62 hectares safeguarded at the University of Warwick Main Campus, Local Green Spaces at Meon Vale, and town centre sites in Leamington Spa including Chandos Street. In Stratford-upon-Avon, the 2.04 hectare Gateway site is earmarked for a mixed-use scheme including a new World Shakespeare Museum, alongside the Rother Quarter. Other entries cover a new village centre for Studley, and Warwick sites including Myton Community Stadium and St Mary's Lands.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section details all eight Major Investment Sites under Policy DS.10. They are the Gaydon automotive hub, the Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre, land south of Coventry including the former Coventry Airport, where a gigafactory or wider advanced manufacturing is planned alongside a 90 hectare country park at Gateway South, Stoneleigh Park with around 5.4 hectares of extra employment land, 62 hectares at the University of Warwick Main Campus, the university's Wellesbourne Campus, Wellesbourne Airfield, where up to 65 hectares of employment land depends on relocating the runway, and Fen End for automotive and motorsport uses.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy supports certain types of housing in the countryside, outside allocated sites and settlement boundaries. It allows rural exception affordable housing led by local communities, small self-build and custom-build schemes, and conversions of redundant brick or stone buildings that are listed or of historic merit. It also supports replacement dwellings, homes tied to agricultural or rural businesses where a functional need is proven, small expansions of existing mobile home and Traveller sites, and new single homes of exceptional quality and design.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section sets out the full policy and reasoning for protecting the Cotswolds National Landscape. Proposals must follow the area's Management Plan, avoid cumulative harm, stay proportionate in scale, and in exceptional cases show public benefits outweigh harm. Schemes within the 3km buffer must consult the National Landscape Board. The area, formerly the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, covers 8.2% of South Warwickshire. Councils have a legal duty to seek to further its conservation, and national policy gives great weight to protecting it.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy protects five Special Landscape Areas: Arden, Cotswold Fringe, Feldon Parkland, Ironstone Hills Fringe, and River Leam and Surrounds. These are locally designated areas of high landscape quality shown on the Policies Map. Development that would harm their distinctive character and appearance, including their historic and cultural features, will be resisted. The cumulative effect of several developments will be considered, and schemes in settlements within these areas must respect how the settlement historically sits in the landscape.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section explains why Special Landscape Areas are designated. National policy supports protecting the natural landscape, and these designations protect the best countryside outside the Cotswolds National Landscape. The five areas were identified through a landscape study and represent particularly high quality countryside at a district level. The section notes that all landscapes matter, but labelling the whole of South Warwickshire as special would undermine the point of picking out specific areas for their landscape and scenic quality.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section introduces policies on protecting the character of South Warwickshire. It warns that growth pressure and gradual, incremental change are eroding landscape character and local distinctiveness. New development must therefore conserve and enhance landscape qualities, support green infrastructure and nature recovery, and contribute to climate resilience and biodiversity. When assessing proposals, councils will look not only at direct effects but also at the cumulative impact of many changes over time.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy requires development to protect, enhance and where appropriate restore landscape character. Schemes must respond to local Landscape Character Area descriptions, be landscape led from the earliest design stage, and guard against settlements merging together. A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment is required for all major developments, sites over 0.5 hectares, or schemes affecting heritage settings. Harm to the landscape is only acceptable where it is unavoidable and outweighed by public benefits, and new planting must use native, locally characteristic species with long-term maintenance secured.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section sets out the landscape character policy in full and its justification. Development must avoid visually intrusive locations, protect openness, tranquillity and rural character, and show that alternative sites and designs were considered. Assessments must follow Landscape Institute guidance and cover cumulative, seasonal and night-time effects. The reasoning is that landscape-led design, informed by the Landscape Character Assessment, prevents harm from the outset rather than relying on mitigation added later, with requirements scaled to the sensitivity of each location.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy protects the gaps between settlements so that towns and villages keep their separate identities. Development that would erode a gap's function will be refused unless no reasonable alternative site exists outside it. Schemes must preserve openness and the sense of leaving one place before entering another, avoid urbanising features such as lighting and access roads, and be assessed alongside other development for cumulative effects. It also designates Areas of Restraint, shown on the Policies Map, where the open character of land must not be harmed.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section sets out the settlement gap policy and its reasoning. In Areas of Restraint, large-scale development will only be permitted where it brings clear community benefits, supports the plan's objectives, and no suitable alternative site exists nearby. These areas are not landscape quality designations. They protect open land in and around settlements, such as river valley corridors, because of its contribution to a settlement's character and form. Agricultural and recreational uses, allotments, cemeteries and small farm additions may still be appropriate.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy requires all development to be well designed, and states that poorly designed proposals will be refused. Schemes must be supported by a Design Statement showing how they meet criteria covering context, identity, built form and movement. This means understanding the site's history and surroundings, creating attractive and distinctive places, designing walkable streets that limit crime, and prioritising active travel such as walking and cycling alongside a genuine choice of sustainable transport options.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section gives the full well-designed places policy and guidance on applying it. Beyond context, identity, built form and movement, schemes must weave in natural features, create safe and welcoming public spaces, provide healthy living conditions with good light, storage and accessibility, and use resources efficiently with long-term stewardship planned. Design Statements should tell the design story and show how talks with parish councils, police, heritage bodies and county services shaped the scheme. National policy says permission should be refused for poor design.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy supports development that complies with local Design Codes, which set clear design frameworks so that proposals meeting their parameters can be approved. Applicants must show how they have met the relevant code's expectations. Codes are not meant to stifle creativity, so departures are possible, but they must be fully justified, judged on their merits, and still achieve the good design principles in Policy DS.18. Where no local code exists, the National Design Guide applies.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section explains how Design Codes will work in practice. The plan will be supported by a range of codes, and in some places more than one may apply, such as an area-wide code and a site-specific code together. Where no local code exists, the National Design Guide is used instead. The information needed to show compliance will vary with the type and scale of development, and early discussion with the council's Development Management team is encouraged.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section sets out the full densification policy and its reasoning. Major housing schemes in Main Urban Areas within 1km of a railway station must achieve at least 60 dwellings per hectare unless robustly justified otherwise, and schemes near stations elsewhere must show density has been optimised. Reusing redundant buildings, converting upper floors, infill plots and adding storeys are all supported. The policy also backs Advanced Methods of Construction, such as modular building, for their speed and sustainability, provided designs follow an agreed Design Code.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy controls lorry traffic in the Vale of Evesham Control Zone. Business proposals that would increase heavy goods vehicle traffic by 5% or more must show that the economic benefits outweigh the traffic impact, that the development cannot go on a site with better access to the county's lorry route network, and that the proposed delivery routes are the least harmful to local communities. An HGV is defined as a lorry over 7.5 tonnes, and permissions will cap the number of lorry movements through conditions or legal agreements that bind future occupiers.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section gives the full flood risk policy and its reasoning. On sites at risk, buildings must sit in the safest areas, safe access must be shown, and floor levels must be at least 600mm above the 1% annual probability flood level plus climate change allowance. All development needs a drainage strategy, an undeveloped buffer of at least 8 metres along watercourses, and space for water through green and blue infrastructure. South Warwickshire has a history of flooding from multiple sources, and climate change is expected to make floods more frequent and severe.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section adds detail on how sustainable drainage systems should be designed. SuDS must be planned as an integral part of the site layout, favouring above-ground and dispersed features rather than reliance on one large storage feature. They should deliver several benefits at once: reducing flood risk, cleaning water through a four-stage treatment train, boosting wildlife, providing attractive amenity space and helping to cool urban areas. Drainage features should also become part of the wider ecological network.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy requires development to protect, improve and extend green and blue infrastructure, meaning natural assets such as open spaces, trees, rivers and canals. Schemes must secure management and funding for these features for at least 30 years. Proposals should contribute to strategic opportunities identified in the evidence, such as restoring ancient woodlands, a River Avon Linear Park and better access to the canals. Design must respond to local landscape character, connect habitats, use native and climate-resilient planting and help reduce flood risk.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section sets further open space requirements and explains how they apply. Developments must provide 0.86 hectares of community growing space, including allotments, per 1,000 households, and 0.5 hectares of play provision for children and teenagers per 1,000 people. Major schemes must submit an open space and play assessment. Off-site provision or payments are only accepted where on-site provision is genuinely not achievable. Student housing, care villages and retirement communities must contribute, and major commercial schemes may also need to provide open space.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy sets accessibility standards for open space and play areas. Every home in a major development must be within reach of a neighbourhood greenspace and a local or doorstep greenspace, with catchments ranging from 200 metres for a doorstep space to 5,000 metres for a district space of 100 hectares. Play areas have their own catchments, from 100 metres for small local play areas to 1,000 metres for larger equipped ones, and community growing spaces should be within 1 kilometre of new homes. Design should follow recognised guidance, including inclusive play and provision suited to teenage girls.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section explains the protection given to homes in town centres. Royal Leamington Spa and Warwick both have large numbers of houses and apartments within their town centre boundaries, which add diversity and vitality but create pressure where different uses sit side by side. Uses such as small offices, dental surgeries and children's nurseries may be acceptable in these residential areas, provided the residential character and appearance of the building and area are not altered. The council will also consider the cumulative effect of such changes.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy sets space and accessibility rules for new homes. All new homes, including those created by converting or subdividing existing buildings, must meet the Nationally Described Space Standards, which set minimum sizes for homes, bedrooms and storage. All new homes must also meet the M4(2) accessible and adaptable standard in the Building Regulations. On top of that, at least 2.5% of market homes must meet the higher M4(3)(2a) wheelchair adaptable standard.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section explains the reasoning behind the space and accessibility standards. The population aged 65 and over is projected to rise 53% in Stratford-on-Avon district and 43% in Warwick district between 2025 and 2050, with large increases in people with mobility problems. The evidence therefore recommends all new homes meet the M4(2) adaptable standard, plus 2.5% of market homes and 5% of affordable homes built as wheelchair user dwellings, equal to around 44 extra wheelchair homes a year. Exceptions are possible where site constraints such as flood risk or heritage make compliance impossible, but robust evidence is required.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy sets the tenure and type mix for affordable housing. The councils will seek at least 60% Social Rent and no more than 40% Shared Ownership, with other tenures only in exceptional, well-justified circumstances. One and 2-bed affordable homes should come in a mix of bungalows, flats, maisonettes and houses, while 3 and 4-bed homes should be houses, and 5% of rented affordable homes should be ground level, single-level homes. Affordable homes must be visually indistinguishable from market homes and dispersed across the site in suitable clusters.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This section explains the affordable tenure choices. Evidence found a need for 60% Social Rent, 20% Affordable Rent and 20% affordable home ownership, but the councils prioritised Social Rent because Affordable Rent is less affordable and can leave households relying on housing benefit. Shared Ownership was raised to 40% to help viability, and is seen as the most suitable ownership tenure locally as buyers can now purchase as little as 10% equity. Discounted Market Sale was found to need at least a 40% discount to be affordable here, and single-level homes respond to the ageing population.

The human version (we wrote this, not the council)This policy sets criteria for new Gypsy and Traveller pitches and Travelling Showpeople plots. Sites must avoid significant harm to heritage, ecology and landscape designations, be a reasonable distance from schools, GP surgeries, shops and community facilities, and not be visually intrusive. Private sites are limited to a maximum of 15 pitches. Sites also need safe road access with turning and parking space, plus adequate water, electricity, drainage and waste services. Any permission will include conditions limiting pitch numbers and restricting occupancy to the travelling community.