Woldingham Design Guidance - Live Cartogold Jobs

1. IntroductionThis Guide1.1 The importance of good design is recognisedboth in national and local planning policy. Good design isconsidered essential for sustainable development and it isrecognised as a key contributor to community health, socialwell-being and inclusion, as well as to the quality of theenvironment.1.2 PPS1 Delivering Sustainable Development, states“Design which is inappropriate in its context, or whichfails to take the opportunities available for improving thecharacter and quality of an area and the way it functions,should not be accepted.” PPS3 Housing makes clear thatdesign quality includes assessment of whether the proposal“creates or enhances a distinctive character that relates wellto the surroundings and supports a sense of local pride andcivic identity” and whether it “is well integrated with, andcomplements, the neighbouring buildings and the local areamore generally in terms of scale, density, layout and access”.1.3 Good design is not just about buildings but aboutplaces, and it includes the way places work as well as look.This requires a considered response to a place, based on anunderstanding of its particular character.1.4 Good design is also about imaginative solutionsthat meet the needs of each client and respond appropriatelyto their context.1.5 We need good design if we are to maintain andenhance the character and quality of places and ensure thatthese places continue to be ones where people want to live,to work and to visit.1.6 The guidance in this document focuses on designprinciples for maintaining the character and quality of places,and that influence how development proposals relate to andfit into the context, including both neighbouring propertiesand the wider area.1.7 This Design Guidance contains a number ofDesign Principles for maintaining the character and qualityof the area. Not every Design Principle applies to everycharacter area (see the matrix on page 6). Developmentwill be expected to respect the overall aims of these DesignPrinciples, but different weight may be given to themdepending on the scheme and the particular location andcharacteristics of the site. The consideration of these designprinciples will feed into the Council’s Development Planpolicy assessment of issues such as character, setting, localcontext and local distinctiveness in terms of Core Strategypolicy CSP18 ‘Character and Design’ in particular and anyother character based policies in subsequent DevelopmentPlan Documents.Purpose of the Guidance1.8 The main purpose of this guide is to provide apractical tool to help to:■■ Promote good design and sustainability in Woldingham;■■ Protect and enhance the high quality character of thearea;■■ Explain how the design principles will apply in differentparts of Woldingham so as to maintain and reinforce itscharacter;■■ Provide guidance in relation to planning applications: toapplicants when formulating proposals and to planningofficers when making decisions, on what constitutesgood, sustainable and appropriate design; and■■ Provide guidance to other decision makers and localresidents in relation to changes to the streetscene andlandscape character.Figure 1.1: impressions of WoldinghamWoldingham Design Guidance2©TiBBalDS MaRCH 2011