Design at appeal

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IntroductionHigh quality buildings and spaces are achievablethrough good planning. Appeals should be seenas a last resort but they are an important partof the planning system and appeal decisionscan greatly affect the way future applicationsare devised, negotiated and decided.National, regional and locally important designobjectives should not be compromised byill-founded perceptions of what will or will notstand up at appeal. It is important that all partiesinvolved in appeals understand how to dealwith design issues and give them appropriateattention. The what to do list in this leafletwill help to achieve this. All involved, whetherlocal authority planner, appellant or third party,should apply them wherever possible.Published in 2006 by the Commission forArchitecture and the Built Environment.Graphic design by Draught Associates.Printed by White Oak Press on Starfineenvironmentally friendly paper.All rights reserved. No part of thispublication may be reproduced, stored ina retrieval system, copied or transmittedwithout the prior written consent of thepublisher except that the material may bephotocopied for non-commercial purposeswithout permission from the publisher.This document is available in alternativeformats on request from the publisher.CABE is the government’s advisor onarchitecture, urban design and public space.As a public body, we encourage policymakersto create places that work for people. We helplocal planners apply national design policyand offer expert advice to developers andarchitects. We show public sector clients howto commission buildings that meet the needs oftheir users. And we seek to inspire the public todemand more from their buildings and spaces.Advising, influencing and inspiring, we workto create well-designed, welcoming places.CABE1 Kemble StreetLondon WC2B 4ANT 020 7070 6700F 020 7070 6777E enquiries@cabe.org.ukwww.cabe.org.uk
BackgroundDesign is a legitimate and important consideration in planningdecisions. Planning policy statement 1 (PPS1) now tells us that‘design which is inappropriate in its context, or which fails to take theopportunities available for improving the character and quality of anarea and the way it functions, should not be accepted’. This meansthat rather than refusing only poor schemes as the old planning policyguidance note 1 (PPG1) instructed, planners should be rejectingeverything that fails to meet these new requirements. This raising ofthe bar in favour of quality will be a key test within planning appeals.Design is about how places look and work. By Design, thecompanion guide to PPS1, sets out the core principles of gooddesign. Planning decisions on design issues should refer tothese and the physical characteristics of the proposal in termsof how they will, or will not, produce well designed results.It is interesting to compare PPS1’s stance on design with old versionsof PPG1 that may still be influencing behaviour, despite no longerbeing in force. The 1992 version instructed authorities ‘not to seek tocontrol the detailed design of buildings unless the sensitive characterof the setting for the development justifies it’. The 1988 version ofPPG1 was even more stringent, saying: ‘Matters of detailed designhave long been an unnecessary source of contention and delayin the planning system.’ ‘Where a refusal of permission is basedsimply on a preference for a different external appearance, theremay be grounds for an award of costs in an inquiry appeal’. Thingshave moved on and these out of date policies no longer apply.We have come a long way since then and PPS1 should be seenas a clear endorsement of the relevance of design, explaining, asit does, that: ‘Good design is indivisible from good planning.’The need for good design is clearly set out in national policy and normallyincluded in regional and local policy. Even if design does not featurein an authority’s reasons for refusal, other parties might raise it or theinspector may decide to consider the merits of a scheme’s design. Allparties should be aware of this and set out their own views accordingly.In CABE’s recent survey of local planning authorities, nearly a thirdof respondents cited a lack of support by the planning inspectorate,and concerns about losing claims for costs, as a major reason for notrefusing planning permission on design grounds. This perceptionabout the inspectorate seems to have its roots in old versions of PPG1,and there is no clear evidence to support it. In fact, many appeals turnon design issues and many poorly designed schemes are regularlydismissed at appeal. The planning inspectorate’s own figures showthat in the six months to 31 January 2005, of the 5,617 appeals thatwere decided on design issues, only 35 per cent were allowed.Whatever the reality of appeal decisions the idea that designbased refusal will not be upheld does seem to have a veryreal effect on how authorities deal with design issues.
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