Preferred Options
(4)10. Built Environment
Introduction
10.1 The design of buildings and the wider spaces around them influence where people choose to live, work and spend leisure time, and how they feel about their area. High quality design and attractive environments can therefore encourage investment and economic development in an area, support social inclusion and help to create civic pride and community cohesion. Good design is therefore a key element in achieving sustainable development
10.2 In general terms, the quality of the built environment in Warwick District is high. This area is a very popular place to live and attracts people from other areas and regions as evidenced by higher than average house prices. These qualities need to be maintained and improved, particularly during the current economic downturn and within those parts of the District in need of economic, social and environmental regeneration.
10.3 The Council wishes, by 2029, that the district will be known as a place for its ‘Sustainable Garden towns, suburbs and villages’, with the appropriate infrastructure and design codes in place to support this principle. The Garden Suburbs and Villages study/prospectus (see appendix 3) shows how these principles could apply to the existing towns, parts of which already demonstrate the advantages of tree lined streets, appropriate housing density, suitable vehicle parking facilities and increased plot sizes. It should be noted that these objectives can be achieved through a demonstrable reduction in the proportion of development land utilised for highway purposes.
(1)Relevant Issue & Strategic Objectives
10.4 Relevant Issues: Pressure for new development could potentially threaten the high quality built and natural environments, particularly in historic areas
10.5 Strategic Objectives: See especially objectives 8 and 9 as set out in paragraphs 4.13 to 4.15 above
10.6 SCS Strategic Aim: The built and natural environment has been protected and enhanced
(58)PO10: Built Environment
Our preferred Option is to:
Promote and deliver high quality design through including policies to protect and enhance the built environment. This will include utilising the principles of sustainable Garden Towns, Suburbs and Villages and reference to the prospectus (see appendix 3) commissioned by the Council to guide developers and inform decisions on planning applications
Protect and enhance the historic environment, with particular reference to the principles of garden towns, suburbs and villages where appropriate (see also Historic Environment - section 11)
Promote and deliver inclusive communities (see Inclusive, Safe and Healthy Communities - section 13, Housing – section 7 and Economy – section 8)
Protect, enhance and link the natural environment through policies to encourage appropriate design of the built environment and set out a framework for subsequent more detailed design guidance to ensure physical access for all groups to the natural environment(See also Green Infrastructure – section 15)
Provide secure, safe and accessible places to promote community safety (see Inclusive, Safe and Healthy Communities – section 13)
Adapt for the effects of climate change (see Climate Change – section 12 and Water and Flooding – section 18)
Reduce energy use and other resource use, reduce emissions, design for adaptability and promote the development of renewable energy resources.
Encourage sustainable waste management by ensuring that the design of new development takes into account the need for bin/compost storage, access to recycling and kerbside collections.
(6)Justification for Preferred Option
10.7 National Planning Policy Framework, 2012. Good inclusive design is a key aspect of sustainable development. The core planning principle in the NPPF is to “always seek to secure high quality design and a good standard of amenity for all existing and future occupants of land and buildings”. This relates to all new, converted and replacement buildings for any use. New homes in the countryside can be considered if the design is “truly outstanding or innovative, helping to raise standards of design more generally in rural areas; reflect the highest standards in architecture; significantly enhance its immediate setting and be sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area”. The LPPF encourages the use of design codes, to deliver high quality outcomes, but these should avoid being over prescriptive. Codes should concentrate on scale, density, massing, height, landscape, layout, materials and access. Good design also encompasses connections and the “integration of new development into the natural, built and historic environment”. There is also mention of re-introducing the principles of Garden Towns; “The supply of new homes can sometimes be best achieved through planning for larger scale development, such as new settlements or extensions to existing villages and towns that follow the principles of Garden Cities”. This style of development is seen as enduring in the NPPF and considered therefore desirable for new development in appropriate circumstances. Design review arrangements are also recommended.
10.8 Garden Towns, Villages and Suburbs, 2012: Illustrates the overarching principles of the original movement and future potential for this approach, as suggested in the NPPF so that it can be developed into more guidance in support of this Local Plan.
10.9 Secured by Design: The UK Police flagship initiative supporting the principles of “designing out crime” through the use of effective crime prevention and security standards for a range of applications.
10.10 Manual for Streets, 2007 and 2, 2010: emphasises that streets should be places in which people want to live and spend time in, and are not just transport corridors. In particular, the manual aims to reduce the impact of vehicles on residential streets by asking practitioners to plan street design intelligently and proactively and gives a high priority to the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and users of public transport.
10.11 Planning for Places: Delivering Good Design through Core Strategies: Case studies from a number of local authorities are given to illustrate an understanding of how a place works, what makes it special and the opportunities it offers and how this is critical to developing a core strategy.
10.12 Building for Life Standards, 2009: promotes design excellence and celebrates best practice in the house building industry. Good quality housing design can improve social wellbeing and quality of life by reducing crime, improving public health, easing transport problems and increasing property values.
10.13 Code for Sustainable Homes, 2006: the national standard for the sustainable design and construction of new homes. The Code aims to reduce carbon emissions and create homes that are more sustainable.
10.14 Urban Design Compendium 1 and 2: 1 – the key aspects of urban design and how these can be applied to create places where people want to live, work and socialise. 2 – practical guidance on the steps that can be taken and barriers that need to be overcome during policy and project development to improve the quality of place delivered.
10.15 Car Parking: What Works Where, 2006: Identifies the widest range of available options, reviews that options in relation to housing density, then gives examples from around the country and evaluates them against a set of criteria including quality, convenience, safe pedestrian routes, security of parked vehicles and efficient use of land.
10.16 The Bishop Review: The Future of Design in the Built Environment, 2011: An independent report that examines the legacy of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) in the context of the new planning system and economic and political context, and makes recommendations for a new ecosystem of design support
10.17 West Midlands Farmsteads & Landscapes Project, 2010: An evaluation of what future uses farm buildings should be put to and identifying the most significant and vulnerable cases.
10.18 Landscape Character Assessment for land south of Warwick and Leamington, 2009: A study which examined parcels of land outside the Green Belt which could be considered as potential areas for urban expansion, whilst protecting the character of the towns.
10.19 Green Infrastructure Study, 2010: Identifies key natural, ecological, health and quality of life assets and resources that make up Warwick District’s strategic green infrastructure network.
10.20 District Residential Design Guide, 2008: provides a design framework for all who are involved in the provision of residential accommodation within Warwick District
10.21 District Council’s DPD’s on:
- Vehicle Parking Standards, 2007;
- Sustainable Buildings, 2008;
- Open Space, 2009
- Affordable Housing, 2008
Other Options
10.22 There is potential for developments to repeat some of the less desirable designs of the past. In order to minimise this possibility and ensure that new development exceeds these standards, the Council has considered which designs and types of development are the most successful and popular. The result has informed the report on Garden towns, suburbs and villages. The Council will ensure that policies promote high quality design within new developments and in areas of redevelopment or where conversions or the replacement of buildings takes place.