The Housing Forum has responded to the Government’s consultation on its new Design and Placemaking Planning Guidance. We are broadly supportive of the changes that are being proposed around Design and Placemaking Planning Guidance. Streamlining helps to avoid duplication and simplifies the process.
Design codes, as currently operated, are not necessarily achieving their intended objectives, and many of our members report that they are too slow and large a tool to be useful, or that they “code the life out of everything”. The costs and time taken for LPAs to prepare design codes are not trivial. Further streamlining of when a design code is required (to focus only on the very largest sites), and of what needs to go in it would help reduce the negative impacts.
We are concerned that the guidance includes things that are desirable, and aspirational, but that the statement that “Development proposals that are not well-designed should be refused”, in contrast, implies that they should set minimum non-negotiable standards. They cannot do both. The Housing Forum believes that the role of Design Codes should be to be aspirational, setting out really good ways to design homes and neighbourhoods. This will mean including elements that are not realisable in every detail on every occasion.
The Guidance needs to recognise that good design is not the only or overriding aspiration for development. The design is not something that can be finalised and signed-off on at the start of the process. Instead, good design requires a holistic approach so there is a risk that trying to prescribe them by segment may be a counterproductive exercise, as it is too prescriptive. Over-prescriptive design codes can also lead to uniform housing (for instance if they dictate the colour of fencing) which is not popular with local residents.
Design codes should recognise where consistency and coherence are helpful, and where proscription might not be needed, or indeed may be counter-productive. Many of our most-loved neighbourhoods are defined by diversity.
You can download our response in full HERE
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