City design is a wide-ranging concept that relates to the built form and open spaces of a city, and their past, present and future. The city’s environment is ever changing and it is important to ensure that the changes taking place fit into the context of the history of the form and design of the city, as well as considering the future of the city in terms of sustainability and renewable energy.
The City of Derby Local Plan, CDLP, sets out the Council’s town planning policies which guide decisions on planning applications. There are a number of relevant sections within the Local Plan that set out the Council’s design policies for the city. Many of these policies use key urban design terms such as scale, massing, design, and use of materials as a way of assessing the impact and appropriateness of development. The following is a summary of policies within the Local Plan adopted in 1998, linking these with the related policies within the Local Plan Review Revised Deposit 2002, which will, by the beginning of 2006, update and replace the 1998 document.
The information below is only a summary of those policies located within the Adopted CDLP and those draft policies located in the CDLP Review. You can follow the links to view the chapters which contain the policies in full.
Strategic Policies
The emerging CDLP Review includes overarching strategic policies, some of which have implications for design policies within the city. Key planning objectives, as listed in Policy ST2, include making use of previously used land and buildings, improving quality and design in the urban environment and ensuring the well-being of the city in terms of its key natural and cultural resources. Urban design is therefore central to the Council’s overall planning vision.
Policy ST9 elaborates on these objectives, seeking development that will contribute to good urban design and which will be sensitive to and respect the urban grain.
Housing
Policies H27 and H28, within the housing section of the adopted CDLP provide guidance on house extensions and residential layout/design respectively. H27 uses urban design terms to require assessment of the impact of a proposed extension on the street scene, such as design, massing, visual prominence, use of material and proportions. H28 requires that any residential developments prioritise the quality of design over adherence to precise standards. Developments which could adversely affect the views of neighbouring properties will not be given planning permission. H28 is taken forward by Policy H21 in the Review, adding more urban design criteria for layout, including urban density. H27 is taken forward by Review Policy H26, regarding the effect of a housing extension on the street scene.
General Design Policy
A general design policy is provided by adopted CDLP Policy E31, E26 in the Review. These policies support an overall adherence to high standards of design throughout the city, based on scale, density, massing, height, landscape, layout and access in relation to the surrounding area. Transport routes and development sites leading into the city are particular target areas for good design.
Conservation Areas
Policy E24 in the adopted CDLP and E21 in the Review look at new development within conservation areas, the fifteen areas within the city that have been designated as areas of special architectural or historic interest. The policies state that permission will only be granted for development that will either preserve or enhance the special character of the Conservation Area. Again, materials used, siting, mass, scale and design are key factors in determining whether a new building enhances the Conservation Area.
Listed Buildings and Buildings of Local Importance
Policies E26 and
E27 in the adopted CDLP and
Policy E22 in the Review consider the effect of development on statutorily and locally listed buildings, all of which are listed because of their special architectural or historic interest. Alterations must be sympathetic, and other development must be sympathetic to important historic buildings nearby. For example, new buildings should not be out of scale with old.
Community Safety
Crime prevention and community safety are important elements to consider when designing new development, and this is reinforced in Policy E32 in the adopted CDLP and Policy E27 in the review. The design of buildings, lighting, landscaping and open spaces must pay attention to safety and encourage a lively, attractive and welcoming environment if permission is to be granted.
Building Security
Policy E33 in the adopted CDLP and
Policy E28 in the Review expand on safety in design by considering building security measures. Security measures should not adversely affect the quality of the street scene and must be sympathetically designed in relation to the building and its setting.
Shop Fronts
Policy E34 in the adopted CDLP outlines the Council’s commitment to granting permission only for new or altered shop fronts that are designed to harmonise with and enhance the street scene. They must also relate well to the building of which they are a part.
Public/Environmental Art
The City Council has development a ‘Percent for Art’ scheme to ensure that at least a 1% proportion of the cost of new major development goes towards works of art that will enhance the scheme and improve the general environment of the area in which the development will sit. Policy E37 in the adopted CDLP and Policy E30 in the Review provide guidance on this. For further information on public art and new development, please refer to the leaflet 'Public Art – a Guide for Developers'.
Renewable Energy
An additional environmental policy in the Review, Policy E12, directs that planning permission will be granted for development in which design has regard to reducing the generation and use of energy, ensuring a sustainable approach to development within the city.
Accessibility
New development must be sympathetic to the surrounding area in scale, nature and detail, and must also ensure reasonable access for disabled people. Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the last duty of which came into force on 1 October 2004, requires avoidance of physical barriers that might prevent disabled users from accessing goods and services.
Policy S4 in the adopted CDLP requires that new development and extensions of retail uses meet certain design objectives, which will ensure it fits in well with the street scene and is reasonably accessible to all.
T17 in the CDLP and T10 in the Review provide guidance on ensuring that the design of non-domestic development reasonably meets the needs of disabled people, and aims to create an accessible and pleasant environment overall.
For further information please contact the Built Environment Team:
Telephone 01332 255060 Minicom 01332 256666 Fax 01332 255989 e-mail built.heritage@derby.gov.uk